Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Inter Faith Network for the United Kingdom: Finance

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to provide funding for the Inter Faith Network in the 2023-2024 financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Dehenna Davison: The Inter Faith Network will receive funding from the Department in 2023/24 to deliver a range of activities, including work to promote good relations between people of different faiths, and to coordinate activity around Inter Faith Week in November.

Building Alterations: Noise

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will bring forward legislative proposals to require landlords soundproof individual flats when redeveloping houses as flats.

Lee Rowley: When there is a material change of use, the Building Regulations 2010 require that work is carried out so there is reasonable resistance to sound in dwelling houses, flats and rooms for residential purposes.

Housing: Disability

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent discussions he has had with disability rights groups on (a) the Disabled Facilities Grant and (b) access to adapted housing for people with disabilities.

Lee Rowley: The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) is a shared responsibility with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) given that funding for the grant is provided through the Better Care Fund. Officials from both departments meet regularly with a range of stakeholders interested in both the DFG and access to adapted housing.

Housing: Disability

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the supply of adapted housing for (a) adults and (b) children with disabilities in Slough constituency.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to increase the number of (a) accessible and (b) adaptable homes for (i) adults and (ii) children with disabilities.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has taken recent steps to increase the number of social houses built with adaptations for people with disabilities.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to adapted housing for (a) adults and (b) children with complex health needs.

Lee Rowley: I refer the Hon. Member to my answer to Question UIN 183870 on 11 May 2023, my answer to Question UIN 187138 on 12 June 2023, and the answer given to Question UIN HL8422 on 26 June 2023.

Housing: Disability

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2023 to Question 189778 on Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Disability, what (a) steps his Department is taking to improve and (b) his planned timetable is for improving the framework to deliver accessible new homes.

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2023 to Question 189778 on Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Disability, what research his Department has commissioned to develop the statutory guidance on meeting building regulations approved document M; and whether he plans to publish that research.

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2023 to Question 189778 on Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Disability, what his planned timetable is for the (a) research on statutory guidance for building regulations approved document M and (b) secondary consultation on building regulations announced by his Department in July 2022.

Lee Rowley: I refer my Rt. Hon. Friend to the answer to Question UIN HL8422 on 26 June 2023 and the answer to Question UIN 191722 on 3 July 2023. The Government will consult further on those technical changes needed to mandate the higher accessibility standard in the Building Regulations, and in statutory guidance, in due course.

Housing: Disability

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent estimate his Department has made of the level of accessible housing stock available regionally for people with disabilities.

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people with disabilities have access to suitable housing.

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what support his Department provides to people with disabilities to allow them to obtain accessible housing.

Lee Rowley: I refer the Hon. Member to my answer to Question UIN 183870 on 11 May 2023, my answer to Question UIN 187138 on 12 June 2023, and the answer given to Question UIN HL8422 on 26 June 2023.

Question

Chris Loder: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure that Revenue Support Grant allocations are fair.

Lee Rowley: Revenue Support Grant funding is allocated via a fair assessment of local authority need and is but one part of the Local Government Finance Settlement.

Question

Mrs Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to support the delivery of nationally significant infrastructure.

Lee Rowley: Nationally significant infrastructure is vital for growing the economy, creating new jobs and levelling up our communities. In February, the government set out reforms to the system in the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects Action Plan, and will be consulting on detailed proposals shortly.

Land Registry: Standards

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has plans to reduce application processing times at the Land Registry.

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make a comparative assessment of the average time taken by the Land Registry to process a property transfer as of 5 July (a) 2023, (b) 2022 and (c) 2018; and if he will make a statement.

Rachel Maclean: HM Land Registry's (HMLR's) top priority is improving application processing times and I refer my Right Honourable friend to paragraph three of the answer I gave to Question UIN 187953 on 14 June 2023 for further information.HMLR publishes information on GOV.UK about its latest processing times here. Applications to transfer a property fall within the category of 'changes to existing registered titles', sometimes known as register update services. The table below shows the average time taken to process changes to existing titles for the stated time periods:Time periodAverage time taken to process changes to existing registered titlesJuly 20184 daysJuly 202222 daysJune 202319 days(Includes data for all manual register updates. Data for July 2023 is not yet available.)The time taken to process an application to change an existing title should not impact a property sale because it usually takes place after a transaction has completed. However, if any application becomes urgent, customers can ask for it to be fast tracked for no extra cost. 95% of these applications are completed within 10 days.

Freehold: Fees and Charges

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to amend section 121 of the Law of Property Act 1925.

Rachel Maclean: Announcements will be set out in the usual way.

Planning Permission

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to improve the capacity of the planning system.

Rachel Maclean: The Government recognises that many local planning authorities, as well as the wider planning sector, are facing capacity and capability challenges. Our broad programme of capacity and capability support, working with partners across the planning sector, aims to ensure that local planning authorities have the skills and capacity they need, both now and in the future.   In order to support increased resourcing of local planning authorities, we have announced our intention to increase planning fees by 35% for major applications and 25% for all other applications by the Summer 2023.

Housing: Construction

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the ability of the construction trade to deliver his Department's housebuilding targets.

Rachel Maclean: The Government is committed to our ambition of delivering 300,000 homes per year to help create a more sustainable and affordable housing market. We recognise – and are monitoring – the challenges currently facing the sector, driven by the tough economic climate.The Government recognises how critical a strong and skilled labour market is for industry. We are supporting developers to recruit and train staff by ramping up funding for apprenticeships across all sectors to £2.7 billion by 2024-25; making apprenticeships more flexible; providing millions in funding per year through the apprenticeship levy; and covering 95% of training costs for SME employers.

Private Rented Housing: Guarantees

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of guarantor schemes for private rented properties that include clauses holding guarantors liable in the event of the death of a tenant.

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made how many families who have been pursued by landlords for rental payments through guarantor schemes following the death of a relative in the last three years.

Rachel Maclean: The Department does not hold information relating to specific clauses within guarantor agreements. I refer the Hon. Member to the Renters (Reform) Bill that is awaiting second reading in the Commons.

Public Sector: Land

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) Homes England on disposal and development of public land.

Rachel Maclean: I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 142760 on 23 February 2023.

Environment Protection: Recreation Spaces

Chris Clarkson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to protect and enhance green spaces.

Rachel Maclean: The Levelling Up Parks Fund has made available £9 million for local authorities in areas which rate highly on the Index of Multiple Deprivation, to create or significantly refurbish green spaces.The Fund also requires the planting and maintaining of trees and encourages projects to work towards Green Flag Award status. The local community should also be consulted during project design and delivery.

Department for Business and Trade

Exports: China

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of potential effect on the government of China's decision to restrict export of critical minerals including gallium and germanium on the competitiveness of the UK economy and the transition to net zero.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Department for Business and Trade indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Energy Charter Treaty

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of successful investor state dispute claims against the UK under the terms of the Energy Charter Treaty.

Nigel Huddleston: The UK has investment agreements with ISDS provisions with over 90 trading partners, including within the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). There has never been a successful ISDS claim brought against the UK, nor has the threat of potential claims affected the Government’s legislative programme.

Food: Exports

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the value of agri-food exports from Northern Ireland to Japan was in 2022.

Nigel Huddleston: In 2022 the value of agri-food exports from Northern Ireland to Japan was £14 million.

British Business Bank: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what funding was (a) announced for and (b) allocated to Northern Ireland businesses by the British Business Bank in each of the last three years.

Kevin Hollinrake: At Spending Review 2021, the government announced a £1.6 billion commitment to the nations and regions including £70m to provide a new Investment Fund for Northern Ireland. Other British Business Bank programmes are demand-led, without any geographical allocation.It has not been possible, in the time available, to analyse these UK-wide programmes and determine the finance supported for Northern Ireland businesses in each case. I will write to the Hon. Member as soon as this analysis is complete and will place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Department for Business and Trade: EU Law

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff in her Department have been tasked as part of the Red Tape Review with reviewing departmental archival holdings identifying EU regulatory burdens that had been identified by previous deregulation audits.

Nigel Huddleston: We do not centrally hold information on the number of staff tasked with reviewing departmental archival holdings identifying EU regulatory burdens that had been identified by previous deregulation audits. The government is however - via the Retained EU Law review and reform programme and the wider Smarter Regulation programme - committed to reviewing regulations on an ongoing basis to identify where improvements can be made and where the cost on business or consumers can be reduced. As part of this the government has passed the Retained EU Law (REUL) Act, giving departments the powers to reform their stock of REUL where appropriate.

UK Export Finance

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many applications have been made to UK Export Finance for projects relating to green energy in 2023.

Nigel Huddleston: UK Export Finance (UKEF) has received 7 formal applications for support for projects featuring renewable energy generation during the current calendar year. Other businesses have made enquiries to UKEF about the nature of support available, but have not yet made formal applications.UKEF has also supported other transactions during the year relating to the construction of electric and hydrogen vehicles, including buses.

Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department has taken to help ensure UK businesses benefit from the rules of origin requirements in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Nigel Huddleston: The Department is supporting businesses by creating a range of products and services to explain what has been agreed in Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and bilateral agreements, and how they can benefit. This will include specific guidance on rules of origin. Businesses can also access support via the Export Support Service, or through our network of International Trade Advisors.  Where the UK also has a bilateral free trade agreement in place with a CPTPP member, traders will be able to choose which agreement they wish to trade under. Businesses can compare preferential tariffs rates but also consider the administrative processes involved, including the rules of origin.

Energy Intensive Industries: Government Assistance

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on industry of delaying the British Industry Supercharger scheme.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Since the British Industry Supercharger was announced in February, the government is working to deliver it without delay. A consultation on the Capacity Market exemption concluded on 29 June and a response will be issued in due course, whilst the Network Charging Compensation Scheme is subject to ongoing consultation through to 24 August 2023. It continues to be our expectation that all the measures comprising the Supercharger package be rolled out sequentially between April 2024 and April 2025.

Ceramics: Manufacturing Industries

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had recent discussions with brick manufacturers on the future economic performance of the ceramics industry.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Department for Business and Trade ministers and officials are in regular contact with the ceramics sector, specifically brick manufacturers to discuss current and future priorities around energy costs, decarbonisation, and competitiveness.

Construction: Inflation

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the impact of inflation on the construction industry.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: There has been a significant level of inflation in the price of construction products and materials, as a result of the impact of the pandemic on supply chains, and then the increase in the cost of energy and other disruption caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Government continues to work with the industry to monitor and mitigate the impact of inflation, including through the Construction Leadership Council’s (CLC’s) Product Availability Group. The ONS also publishes monthly statistics on the price of products and materials.

Department for Business and Trade: Taiwan

Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 21 June 2023 to Question 187961 on The Department of Business and Trade: Taiwan, if she will identify which minister represented her Department for each meeting it held with representatives of the Taiwan Government in (a) 2018, (b) 2019, (c) 2020, (d) 2021 and (e) 2022; and if she will identify the (i) job title and (ii) grade of the most senior official who represented her Department when a minister was not present for each meeting it held with representatives of the Taiwan Government in (A) 2018, (B) 2019, (C) 2020, (D) 2021 and (E) 2022.

Nigel Huddleston: From 2018 to 2022 the annual UK-Taiwan Trade Talks were co-hosted by the Minister of State for Trade Policy. These were Sir George Hollingbery (2018), the Rt Hon Sir Conor Burns (2019), the Rt Hon Greg Hands (2020 and 2022), and the Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt (2021). The Second Permanent Secretary met with representatives of the Taiwanese Administration in 2022.

Trade Agreements: USA

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with which states in the United States of America her Department is negotiating a memorandum of understanding.

Nigel Huddleston: We are taking a twin-track approach to trade engagement in the United States, strengthening our ties with individual states in parallel to our work with the federal government – including through Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on trade and economic cooperation. We have signed five MoUs so far – with the states of Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Utah. We have further announced our intent to pursue an MoU with Colorado, and are actively engaging with states including California, Texas, and Florida to deepen economic cooperation.

Shipping: Pay

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when she plans to respond to the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations on seafarers and the Accommodation Offset.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what representations she has received from employers in the shipping industry on the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations on seafarers and the Accommodation Offset.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport on offsetting accommodation costs in seafarers’ wages.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) continues to review the recommendations from the Low Pay Commission (LPC) on seafarers and the Accommodation Offset, and will respond in due course. Every year, the LPC proactively engages with workers, employers and other stakeholders, and invites all interested parties to submit evidence to their consultations on the minimum wage, the accommodation offset and other low pay issues. The Government is grateful for these representations, and they are all considered carefully. DBT works closely with the Department for Transport in relation to seafarers’ wages, and on other relevant matters.

Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to monitor the extent to which the Royal Mail is meeting its universal service obligation.

Kevin Hollinrake: It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards and decide how to respond should Royal Mail fail to meet its obligations.On 15 May 2023, Ofcom announced it would investigate Royal Mail’s quality of service performance for 2022-23.

Business: Delivery Services

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will hold discussions with representatives of delivery companies on delivery delays and potential impacts on businesses.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Postal Services Act 2011 designates Ofcom as the independent regulator for the postal sector with the powers to impose and enforce regulatory requirements on postal operators to fulfil its functions in relation to postal services. In its review of postal regulation in 2022, Ofcom committed to ongoing monitoring of operators’ complaints handling performance and keep under review the need for additional regulation to protect customers. Ofcom publishes an annual monitoring update which includes views from a representative sample of SME users of postal services.

Hotels: Fees and Charges

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she plans to make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the (a) number and proportion of hotels that charge and (b) transparency of service levies for hotel bookings.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government currently has no plans to make an assessment of service levies for hotel bookings. The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (CCRs) require that traders must give full information about the price of the product including any unavoidable extra charges before purchase. These must be given in a clear and comprehensible manner.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what guidance her Department issues on the domestic employment laws applicable to (a) seafarers and (b) other workers carrying out work on offshore wind farms designated by the Renewable Energy Zone (Designation of Area) Order 2004.

Kevin Hollinrake: Government is committed to the protection of workers’ rights for seafarers and those in offshore employment. In 2020 the Government extended minimum wage entitlement to seafarers on domestic voyages. Seafarers can access ‘Seafarer working and living rights’ Pages for clear guidance on their rights. We will continue to review the needs of the renewable energy sector and its workforce - and take action when needed - as we progress towards reaching Net Zero by 2050.

Bicycles: Batteries

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department plans to take steps to review (a) the safety and (b) regulating the sale of e-bike batteries.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has established a safety study to understand data and evidence of risks presented by e-bikes and e-scooters. This includes investigating incidents and taking enforcement action when needed, commissioning research, targeting unsafe products at the border, providing public safety information. The Government is committed to ensuring consumers are protected from unsafe goods. UK law requires that all consumer products be safe before being placed on the UK market. Where products are identified that do not meet the UK’s product safety requirements, OPSS works with local Trading Standards to quickly remove them from sale.

Home Office

Asylum: Housing

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made a comparative assessment of the potential merits of housing asylum seekers in (a) dispersal and (b) contingency accommodation; and if she make will make a statement.

Robert Jenrick: Contingency Accommodation is accommodation that the Home Office has to use in order to continue to meet our statutory obligations. It is not a long-term solution to housing destitute asylum seekers and the Home Office is committed to moving away from contingency accommodation to more suitable forms of accommodation, including Dispersed Accommodation.From 13 April 2022, all local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales are considered a dispersal area and will need to take part in asylum dispersal. This is to ensure a fair and equitable accommodation spread of asylum seekers across the UK. We have agreed targets for every local authority and region in the UK to deliver by the end of 2023.Currently Arfon does not have any dispersal accommodation. If you would like to put forward specific proposals, please do contact the Home Office at: rasiengagementhubregionalconsultation@homeoffice.gov.uk and officials will happily discuss this in greater detail with you.

Asylum: Housing

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance is issued by her Department on the weight expected to be given to (a) family ties, (b) culture and (c) language when deciding where asylum seekers should be accommodated.

Robert Jenrick: Under the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999, the Government is required to provide accommodation to asylum seekers that would otherwise be destitute.It is Home Office policy to offer accommodation on a no choice basis except in exceptional circumstances:www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-accommodation-requests-policy/allocation-of-asylum-accommodation-policy-accessible

Offenders: Deportation

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time is to return foreign offenders to their country of origin under the Facilitated Return Scheme; and whether there is a target time for such cases.

Robert Jenrick: The Facilitated Return Scheme (FRS) offers all foreign national offenders (FNOs) with a determinate prison sentence the opportunity to volunteer to return to their country of origin.The average waiting time to return foreign offenders to their country of origin under FRS is not obtainable from our current database. Whilst we aim to consider or decide all applications within 20 days, there is no specific target for removal.This is a practical solution which saves the taxpayer considerable amount of money in the long run and means FNOs can be removed as soon as possible, denying them the opportunity to re-offend.While we make every effort to ensure that a foreign national offender’s removal by deportation coincides, as far as possible, with their release from prison on completion of sentence, we can face significant and complex challenges when seeking to deport them to their country of origin, including obtaining valid travel documents.Published information on FRS was published in December 2021 and is available from The Facilitated Return Scheme (FRS) (publishing.service.gov.uk).

Offenders: Deportation

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how her Department decides when to action deportation orders to remove foreign criminals from the UK.

Robert Jenrick: Under the UK Borders Act 2007, a deportation order must be made where a foreign national has been convicted of an offence and received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more.In addition, a foreign national who has been convicted of an offence that has caused serious harm, who is a persistent offender or who represents a threat to national security may be considered for deportation under the Immigration Act 1971, where it is conducive to the public good.This is subject to several exceptions, including where to do so would be a breach of a person’s ECHR rights or the UK’s obligations under the Refugee Convention.

Biometric Residence Permits

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of allowing biometric residence permit holders to use e-gates at passport control.

Robert Jenrick: To be eligible for entry via an e-gate at present, a traveller must hold a machine-readable biometric passport. Biometric residence permits are not compatible. However, the Government has an ambitious vision for the future UK border, in which most people crossing the border will experience an e-gate style arrival, using automation as their only point of contact. We continue to look at options for expanding the use of e-gates to cohorts of passenger not currently able to use them.

Visas: Sudan

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to help ensure that people in Sudan who made successful visa applications before the continuing crisis can collect their visas.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on extending the 90-day period for collecting visas in Sudan.

Robert Jenrick: Where our records confirm that a customer’s passport is being held in the Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Khartoum, UK Visas and Immigration have contacted all those customers that have been issued or refused visa applications in our VAC in Khartoum and offering them a letter confirming that their passport is securely stored and attaching a digital copy of their passport, that may help support their travel out of Sudan and into a third country.Where our records show that the passport is held in Nairobi or Pretoria and a named individual (either the applicant or a designated 3rd party) is identified to return the passport to outside of Sudan, the passport can be sent (to the named individual) by courier or for collection from another visa application centre. UK Visas and Immigration have contacted all those customers. For customers that have been able to exit Sudan, processes are in place to re-direct printing of their visa and endorsement on a Form for affixing a visa (FAV) to another VAC location of their choice for collection.Where a customer would normally receive a 90-day vignette, we will defer issuing the vignette until they have been able to safely travel to a location where the vignette can be collected. If the vignette had already been issued and is due to expire, we will assist the customer in applying for a replacement vignette once they have been able to safely travel to a location where the vignette can be collected.

Passports: Republic of Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2019 to Question 4944 on Passports: Republic of Ireland, how many passport applications from residents of the Republic of Ireland were processed by HM Passport Office in each year since April 2019; and how many such applications were processed by each regional passport office in each of those years.

Robert Jenrick: The data requested is not held in a reportable format.

Food: Smuggling

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the levels of cross-channel food smuggling in each of the last five years.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, (b) police forces, (c) the National Crime Agency, (d) HMRC and (e) the Food Standards Agency on the traffic of illicit and counterfeit food goods across the channel.

Robert Jenrick: Border Force work closely with the lead department DEFRA in relation to Products of Animals Origins and food smuggling data.The DEFRA link below will provide further detail in relation to the questions asked:www.gov.uk/guidance/import-or-move-food-and-drink-from-the-eu-and-northern-ireland-to-great-britain

Firearms: Licensing

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle delays in issuing licences by  police firearms departments.

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police forces have suspended the grant of new fire arms certificates.

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of areas suspending the applications process for the grant of new firearms licences on (a) shooting sports and (b) the licenced gun trade in those areas.

Chris Philp: It is a matter for individual Chief Officers of Police to determine how their force firearms licensing departments deals with applications for firearms certificates subject to the relevant legislation and Statutory Guidance issued by the Home Secretary. However, we would expect police forces to provide an efficient and effective service and we understand that there are concerns about the performance of some forces in this respect. Together with the local Police and Crime Commissioner, I have therefore commissioned an inspection of firearms licensing in Devon and Cornwall Police, and I will receive the report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) later this summer. There will also be a wide thematic inspection of firearms licensing in police forces by HMICRFS in 2024/25 that will look at a number of forces.In addition, force performance is being actively monitored by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for firearms licensing.I have also written to all Police and Crime Commissioners about the importance of an efficient and effective firearms licensing process in police forces and I continue to receive updates on force performance. A refreshed version of the Statutory Guidance to Chief Officers of Police on Firearms Licensing was published on 14 February 2023, and that contains, amongst other matters, new content about the importance of forces managing caseloads effectively to avoid backlogs. This includes a deadline of 14 August to move away from the routine use of temporary permits.

Visas: British National (Overseas)

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have settled in the UK with a British Nationals (Overseas) visa in each of the last three years.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes data on the number of applications and grants of leave of people from Hong Kong on the British National Overseas (BN(O)) route in the “How many people come to the UK each year (including visitors)?” topic and underlying datasets of the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’(opens in a new tab).The latest data for the BN(O) route relates to the year ending March 2023. These statistics include data on main applicants and dependants.The Home Office publishes data on the number of grants of settlement, broken down by category of leave, in table Se_D02 in the Settlement datasets(opens in a new tab). The latest data relates to the year ending March 2023.

Asylum: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to provide lessons in (a) English and (b) Welsh to asylum seekers in Wales.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office does not provide English or Welsh Language lessons as part of the provision of Asylum Support. Accommodation providers do signpost asylum seekers they accommodate to local statutory and non-statutory bodies who may provide these services. Local authorities have a duty to provide suitable full-time education for all children of compulsory school age resident in their area. The education must be appropriate to the child’s age, ability, and any special educational needs they may have, regardless of their immigration status. Local authorities must offer free school places in accordance with their published admissions arrangements, and they must ensure that there is no unreasonable delay in securing school admission for any child.

Police: Pay

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of pay for police officers on levels of corruption.

Chris Philp: The Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) considers and makes recommendations to the Government on the appropriate level of pay and allowances for police officers. The PRRB gathers and invites parties to submit evidence to inform its recommendations. This includes both written and oral evidence from the Government, police employers and police staff associations. It weighs the evidence, considers independent research, and formulates detailed recommendations. The Government values its independent and expert advice.The Government is very carefully considering the Review Body’s recommendations for the 2023/24 pay award.

Climate Change: Demonstrations

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department issues to the Metropolitan Police on handling climate protests in accordance with the Public Order Act 2023.

Chris Philp: The College of Policing have primary responsibility for publishing police guidance and are operationally independent. They have recently published specific guidance on the measures in the Public Order Act 2023 that have already commenced (Public Order Act 2023: Supplementary content (college.police.uk)). Further guidance on the remaining measures will be published in due course.The College of Policing have also worked with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to publish the National Protest Operational Advice document (National protest operational advice (college.police.uk)), which provides operational guidance on the handling of protests and the application of the Public Order Act 2023.In addition, the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice on Public Order Public Safety (Public order public safety | College of Policing) has recently been updated and signposts to both the Public Order Act 2023 and the National Protest Operational Advice document.The Home Office will continue to provide support where appropriate to assist the College of Policing in publishing accurate and up to date guidance on the Public Order Act 2023.

Police: Food Banks and Poverty

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has held recent discussions with Chief Constables on police officers (a) facing in-work poverty and (b) making use of food banks.

Chris Philp: The Police Remuneration Review Body (PRRB) considers and makes recommendations to the Government on the appropriate level of pay and allowances for police officers. The PRRB gathers and invites parties to submit evidence to inform its recommendations. This includes both written and oral evidence from the Government, police employers and police staff associations. It weighs the evidence, considers independent research, and formulates detailed recommendations. The Government values its independent and expert advice.The Government is very carefully considering the Review Body’s recommendations for the 2023/24 pay award.This Government is committed to supporting the police workforce. The Police Covenant, established in law in 2022, will ensure police officers and staff are supported. We will continue to work closely with policing partners to identify and address the key priorities for officer and staff health and wellbeing.

Asylum: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to provide independent inspections of the (a) accommodation and (b) support for asylum seekers in Wales.

Robert Jenrick: The government has a statutory obligation to provide destitute asylum seekers with accommodation and other support whilst their application for asylum is being considered as set out in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. The Act also sets out the need to meet essential living needs. The support package provided consists of accommodation and a weekly cash allowance to meet other essential living needs such as food, toiletries, travel and clothing. The support rate for those in contingency accommodation is intended to cover essential living items that are not met by the accommodation provider such as clothing, non-prescription medicine and travel.All asylum properties are also inspected by our accommodation providers at least monthly. Additionally, our contract assurance team carries out targeted inspections, for example, targeting for inspection properties about which issues have been raised via Migrant Help. Our inspectors have procedures and tools to focus inspections on all relevant aspects of contract compliance.If accommodation providers have been found to have fallen short of the required standards then we can take action, including but not limited to the application of financial remedies.

UK Border Force: Vacancies

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff vacancies were there for the Border Force in each of the last five years.

Robert Jenrick: The information requested could not be obtained without disproportionate cost. The link to Home Office annual reports and accounts which hold detail on staff costs is enclosed below:HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

UK Border Force: Staff

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff worked for the Border Force in each of the last five years.

Robert Jenrick: Staffing figures for Border Force can be found at Home Office annual report and accounts:HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Home Office: Correspondence

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department plans to respond to the correspondence of 9 May, 7 and 21 June 2023 from the hon. Member for Glasgow East, reference DL15425.

Robert Jenrick: An official response was dispatched on 5 July 2023.

Cabinet Office

Members: Correspondence

Alison McGovern: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July to Question 190603 on Cabinet Office: Members, what the deadline to respond to correspondence set by each Government Department was as of 5 July 2023.

Alison McGovern: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant the Answer of 3 July 2023 to Question 90603 on Cabinet Office: Members, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on factors that may be impacting their Department's performance in responding to correspondence.

Alison McGovern: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2023 to Question 190603 on Cabinet Office: Members, what comparative assessment he has made of the performance of each Department at meeting the 20-day target.

Alex Burghart: The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Members’ correspondence. As set out in the Guide to Handling Correspondence on gov.uk and in the response to Question 190603, the deadlines set by Departments for responding to correspondence should not exceed 20 working days and they are strongly encouraged to set more challenging deadlines to ensure greater efficiency in responding to correspondence. While each Department is responsible for managing their own timeliness in responding to correspondence, the Cabinet Office, as owners of the Guide to Handling Correspondence, regularly engages with correspondence officials in Government Departments to discuss and review performance and issues that may be impacting performance. The Cabinet Office also publishes correspondence performance data on GOV.UK on a regular basis, detailing departmental performance in handling correspondence. This can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1145941/Data-on-responses-to-correspondence-from-MPs-and-Peers-in-2022.docx.pdf

Infected Blood Inquiry

Beth Winter: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the oral contribution of 22 June 2023 by the Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office, Official Report, col. 1005, when the Small Ministerial Group expects to reach a conclusion on the recommendations of the second interim report of the Infected Blood Inquiry on the (a) structure and membership and (b) date of establishment of an independent arms length body to administer the compensation scheme.

Beth Winter: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the oral contribution by the Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office of 22 June 2023, Official Report, columns 1004-05, when the Small Ministerial Group on the Infected Blood Inquiry's second interim report is expected to reach a conclusion on the recommendations on payments to bereaved parents and children.

Beth Winter: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the oral contribution by the Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office of 22 June 2023, Official Report, columns 1004-05, when the Small Ministerial Group on the Infected Blood Inquiry's second interim report is expected to reach a conclusion on the recommendations on the inclusion of people affected by Hepatitis B.

Jeremy Quin: As set out in the debate held on Thursday 22nd June, the Government intends to respond to Sir Brian’s recommendations following the publication of the Inquiry’s final report in the autumn. This does not preclude the possibility of making earlier announcements on these matters, and I am committed to updating the House as appropriate as the Government progresses this work.

Veterans: Employment

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure veterans can access well-paid employment.

Johnny Mercer: Veterans employment in this country is strong, with 87% securing employment in 6 months after service, helping to deliver on the Government’s priority to grow the economy. DWP’s 50 Armed Forces Champions across the JobCentre Plus network, a 12-month National Insurance Relief for employers recruiting veterans into their first civilian role, and recruitment pathways for veterans into Civil Service careers, such as Going Forward into Employment and a Great Place to Work, are all making a difference to veterans across the country.

Department of Health and Social Care

Primary Health Care

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, where the money allocated for the Delivery Plan for recovering access to Primary Care has been retargeted from.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Doctors: Strikes

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of covering junior doctors' shifts with consultants during the junior doctors’ strike between 13 and 18 July 2023.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Diabetes

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2023 to Question 191251, if he will direct Public Health England to estimate the number of people projected to have diabetes in 2030 based on recent data.

Helen Whately: We intend to update the projected estimates of people with diabetes in due course, however we are still awaiting sufficient validated data for us to do this.

Dementia: Research

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of dementia research funding.

Helen Whately: We will double funding for dementia research to £160 million per year by 2024/25. This will span all areas of research from causes and prevention to treatment and care, delivering evidence to help prevent, diagnose and treat dementia, enabling the best possible care and quality of life for people with dementia.On 14 August 2022, we launched the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Mission which aims to speed up the development of new treatments, supported by £95 million of Government funding. This will work with industry and other United Kingdom initiatives by developing innovations in biomarkers, data and digital sciences, and increasing the number and speed of clinical trials in dementia. The mission was born out of our UK Life Sciences Vision, and is also part of our commitment to double dementia research funding to £160 million a year by 2024/25.On 20 March 2023, the Government announced the appointment of the co-chairs of the Dementia Mission, Nadeem Sarwar and Hilary Evans leading experts in the sector to drive delivery of the mission.

Hospices: Staff

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan on staff recruitment and retention in hospices.

Will Quince: The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, published on 30 June 2023, sets out the steps the NHS and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. It will put the workforce on a sustainable footing for the long term.

Hospices: Pay

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) charitable hospices and (b) other voluntary sector organisations are represented in NHS pay negotiations.

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued to (a) charitable hospices and (b) the voluntary sector on preparing for the potential financial impact of changes to staff pay.

Will Quince: Independent providers, such as charitable hospices and other voluntary sector organisations, are free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment, including the pay scales that they use. For that reason, it is appropriate that negotiations relating to those pay scales and terms and conditions are conducted locally rather than nationally. NHS England has issued guidance on the financial impact of the 2023/24 NHS pay award which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/PRN00456-23-24-pay-award-revenue-finance-and-contracting-guidance.pdf

Vaccination

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to give integrated care systems flexibility to (a) organise and (b) deliver bespoke vaccination programmes.

Maria Caulfield: The Government is committed to improving vaccination uptake rates to fully protect the public from vaccine-preventable diseases, in part through making it as easy as possible for people to get vaccinated.There is ongoing work as part of the NHS England future vaccine strategy to look at more local solutions to vaccine delivery. This may include integrated care boards taking a more active role in vaccine delivery.

Influenza: Vaccination

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of seasonal flu vaccinations delivered by (a) community pharmacies, (b) general practices and (c) other providers in the last 12 months.

Maria Caulfield: The annual flu reports for 2022 to 2023 were published on 22 June 2023 and reported on uptake between 1 September 2022 to 28 February 2023. The report ‘Seasonal influenza vaccine uptake in GP patients in England: winter season 2022 to 2023’ includes a breakdown of vaccination amongst all eligible cohorts by setting and is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seasonal-influenza-vaccine-uptake-in-gp-patients-in-england-winter-season-2022-to-2023

Health Services: Learning Disability

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which integrated care boards are (a) meeting and (b) not meeting the NHS target of completing 75 per cent of annual health checks for people aged 14 or over with a learning disability by 2023-24; and what level are those not meeting the target of at least 75 per cent reaching.

Maria Caulfield: We are taking action to reduce inequalities for people with a learning disability and autistic people, including annual health checks to help identify undetected health conditions early and ensure the appropriateness of ongoing treatments. The NHS Long Term Plan sets out an ambition to improve the uptake of the existing annual health check in primary care for people with a learning disability aged 14 years old and over, so that at least 75% of those eligible have a health check each year.The attached report, from data published by NHS England, sets out data on annual health checks delivered in 2022/23 by area. It shows that, at the end of March 2023, 31 Integrated Care Systems / Transforming Care Partnership areas achieved the NHS Long Term Plan target of 75% or more for annual health checks for eligible people with a learning disability and 11 did not. The attached table shows the variation for those not currently meeting the target, this ranges from 66.1%-74.9%.Annual health checks 2022/23 by area (xlsx, 22.2KB)

NHS: Absenteeism

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the NHS staff absence rate was in each year since 2019.

Will Quince: Annual Data on National Health Service staff sickness absence is published by NHS England for financial years. The following table shows the annual National Health Service staff sickness absence rate between 2018/19 and 2021/22. Data for 2022/23 will be published on 27 July 2023.PeriodAbsence Rate2018/194.21%2019/204.48%2020/214.66%2021/225.38%Source: NHS Sickness Absence RatesNHS England also publish COVID-19 Hospital Activity Statistics, which include a daily measure of both all staff absence and COVID-19 related absences. This is not directly comparable but does show a fall in COVID-19 related absences from over 30,000 a day at the start of April 2022 down to under 3,000 at the end of May 2023.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost to the public purse was of the contract with Valneva for covid-19 vaccinations; when this contract was ended; and how many vaccinations were received through that contract.

Maria Caulfield: We are unable to provide the information requested as it is commercially sensitive. The Government terminated its full supply agreement with Valneva in September 2021. As such, the United Kingdom did not receive any doses through the contract.

Fertility: LGBT+ People

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Women's Health Strategy for England, published 30 August 2022, what recent steps his Department has taken to require integrated care boards to provide equal access to NHS fertility treatment for LGBTQ+ people.

Maria Caulfield: Funding decisions for health services in England, including in vitro fertilisation (IVF), are made by integrated care boards (ICBs) and are based on the clinical needs of their local population. We published the first Women’s Health Strategy on 20 July 2022, which contained a number of important changes and future ambitions to improve the variations in access to National Health Service funded fertility services. This includes improving access to IVF for female same-sex couples by removing the additional financial burden they face when accessing treatment. We expect this to take effect during 2023.

Maternal Mortality: Ethnic Groups

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce racial disparities in maternal deaths.

Maria Caulfield: While births in England are among the safest globally we must do more to ensure maternity care is consistent regardless of ethnicity. To address disparities within the maternity and neonatal system, each Local Maternity and Neonatal System has produced an Equity and Equality Action Plan, shaped by Guidance set out by NHS England in 2022.NHS England have developed 14 Maternal Medicine Networks across England, to ensure that all women with chronic and acute medical problems around pregnancy, such as diabetes and heart disease, have access to specialist management and care from physicians and obstetrics. We understand that co-morbidities are the biggest contributor to maternal mortality and knowing that black women are more likely to suffer from a pre-existing condition, they will be a key group for whom the networks provide benefit.Further to this, in 2022, we established the Maternity Disparities Taskforce, bringing together experts from across the health system, Government departments and the voluntary sector to co-ordinate focus and deliver evidence-based interventions to address maternal disparities.

Children: Vaccination

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of (a) tetanus, (b) polio, (c) diphtheria and (d) meningococcal vaccinations given to children in Weaver Vale constituency during the covid-19 pandemic.

Maria Caulfield: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publish quarterly and annual vaccine coverage data to track the performance of all national immunisation programmes including protection against tetanus, polio, diphtheria and meningococcal disease. Vaccine coverage data shows national as well as regional levels and is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake#cover-of-vaccination-evaluated-rapidly-programme NHS England, the Department and UKHSA are committed to increase coverage across all immunisation programmes with efforts including national news coverage raising awareness of continued availability of routine immunisations, and the importance of taking up vaccination offers. It is vitally important that everyone takes up the vaccinations to which they are entitled; for themselves, their families, and wider society. Anyone unsure about their eligibility or vaccination status should contact their general practitioner for advice.

Influenza: Vaccination

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the decision not to renew the 50 to 64-year-old flu vaccination programme on (a) public health, (b) the economy and (c) NHS and social care capacity.

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of not offering free flu vaccinations to 50 to 64-year-olds on (a) public health, (b) the economy (c) the NHS and (d) social care capacity.

Maria Caulfield: The Department is guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on the approach to the seasonal flu vaccination programme in England. Details about the flu vaccination programme for 2023/24, including which groups will be eligible for a free vaccine and the vaccines that will be reimbursable to National Health Service providers, were published on 25 May 2023. The groups eligible for a free flu vaccine for the 2023 to 2024 season include those aged 65 years old and over and those aged six months old to under 65 years old in clinical risk groups.During the COVID-19 pandemic, eligibility for the influenza programme was temporarily extended to include all adults aged between 50 and 64 years old to protect the population from the potential threat of cocirculation of COVID-19 and influenza, and to alleviate pressure on the NHS. In the JCVI’s advice for the 2023/24 programme published in November 2022, it stated that whilst there would be a health benefit in vaccinating low-risk 50- to 64-year-olds, it is uncertain whether this would be cost effective, and that the overall priority should be to extend the childhood programme in secondary schools as this would be more cost effective and likely to have a greater impact on morbidity and mortality compared with vaccinating 50- to 64-year-olds.Whilst there was no quantitative assessment made of additional indirect benefits to public health, the economy and NHS and social care capacity of not offering flu vaccinations to 50- to 64-year-olds this year, we did take into consideration qualitative evidence, including the benefits of seasonal flu vaccination on reducing winter pressures, when making our overall assessment. The Department will continue to be guided by JCVI advice on cost effectiveness.

Lyme Disease

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make (a) an assessment of the adequacy of the NHS (i) capacity and (ii) capability to diagnose Lyme disease and (b) a comparative assessment of best practice in the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease in (A) the UK, (B) the US and (C) Germany.

Maria Caulfield: The Government has not conducted an assessment of the adequacy of National Health Service capability and capacity to diagnose Lyme disease or a comparative assessment of best practice in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany.Diagnosis of Lyme disease in England and Wales is conducted by the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL). RIPL provides Lyme polymerase chain reaction PCR testing and a comprehensive serological panel which has been fully validated to UK Accreditation Service standards.Services for the treatment of Lyme disease are commissioned locally. These services are the responsibility of integrated care board and general practitioners use their professional judgement in diagnosing and treating this condition.

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the reasons for trends in the level of demand for hormone replacement therapy medication.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment on trends has been made. The demand for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been increasing over time. Total use of HRT across the four main product categories (orals, gels, patches and pessaries) has increased to nearly 800,000 patients each month, and the rate of increase has accelerated post-lockdown. Since the end of the last lockdown, nearly two years ago, monthly patient numbers in these categories have more than doubled (108% increase).The increase in demand for HRT is likely to be due to a range of factors, including media and parliamentary campaigning, increased public awareness, and Government interventions aimed at improving access to menopause care and HRT. This includes the introduction of the HRT prescription prepayment certificate (PPC) to improve access to HRT. It enables women to pay a one-off charge equivalent to two single prescription charges, currently £19.30, for all listed HRT prescriptions for a year. Between the launch on 1 April and 14 June, there were 253,445 applications for the HRT PPC.Menopause is a priority within the Women’s Health Strategy and the Government and National Health Service are implementing a programme of work to improve access to menopause care so that all women can access the support they need, including HRT.

Prescription Drugs: Misuse

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department collects on levels of (a) dependence on and (b) treatment for dependence on prescribed drugs.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential long-term health impacts of (a) benzodiazepines, (b) z drugs and (c) antidepressants on people that take those drugs.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report by NHS England entitled Optimising personalised care for adults prescribed medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal symptoms: framework for action for integrated care boards and primary care, published in March 2023, what plans he has to assess the effectiveness of that framework for action.

Neil O'Brien: The Department does not collect data on levels of dependence on and treatment for dependence on prescribed drugs. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a range of evidence-based guidance that includes recommendations for the National Health Service on the use of benzodiazepines, z drugs and anti-depressants based on an assessment of their benefits and longer-term health impacts. The guidance ‘Medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal symptoms: safe prescribing and withdrawal management for adults’ which is available at the following link:www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng215The Department has no current plans to assess the publication’s effectiveness of ‘Optimising personalised care for adults prescribed medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal symptoms: Framework for action for integrated care boards (ICBs) and primary care’.

Mental Health Services

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of mental health nurses in inpatient mental health hospitals in the context of patient safety.

Maria Caulfield: Nursing staff are particularly important for the safety of inpatient settings. The investigation by Health Services Safety Investigations Body, announced on 28 June, will include looking at how to develop a safe, therapeutic staffing model for all mental health inpatient services.The Long-Term Workforce Plan estimates a need to increase training places for mental health nurses by between 74% and 93% by 2030/31. The Plan sets out an ambition to increase mental health nursing places by 93% to more than 11,000 places by 2031/32. To support this ambition, training places will increase by 13% by 2025/26 and 38% by 2028/29.As of April 2023, there were 39,929 full-time equivalent (FTE) mental health nurses working in National Health Service trusts and integrated care boards in England. Compared to April 2022, that is an increase of 1,442 (3.7%) FTE mental health nurses.

Soft Drinks: Aspartame

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the World Health Organization declaring Aspartame as a potential carcinogenic in the context of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy.

Neil O'Brien: No assessment has been made in relation to the use of aspartame in drinks in scope of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy. The safety of sweeteners, including aspartame, is the responsibility of the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The FSA considers that the safety of aspartame has been evaluated by various Scientific Committees and it is considered safe at current permitted levels of use.The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) report on the evaluation of the potential carcinogenic effects of aspartame has not yet been published. Once IARC’s report is published, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) will undertake their risk assessment on the use of aspartame as an additive. Following JECFA’s assessment, the FSA will review the evidence and decide whether any further actions are needed.

National Food Crime Unit: Staff

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff worked in the National Food Crime Unit in each of the last five years.

Neil O'Brien: The following table shows in each of the last five years, the headcount for the Food Standards Agency (FSA).Year Headcount2019 1181.42020 1247.52021 1291.82022 1431.12023 1537.1 The following table shows in each of the last five years, the headcount of the National Food Crime Unit.Year Headcount2019 66.62020 70.12021 75.32022 77.32023 77.2 TARGET DATE 11/07/2023The above figures include all staff on FSA Payroll on the last day of March in each of the financial years and include casual employees and loans and secondments where FSA is paying greater than 50% of the salary but exclude Board and Committee members.

Food Standards Agency: Staff

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff have been employed by the Food Standards Agency in each of the last five years.

Neil O'Brien: The following table shows in each of the last five years, the headcount for the Food Standards Agency (FSA).Year Headcount2019 1181.42020 1247.52021 1291.82022 1431.12023 1537.1 The following table shows in each of the last five years, the headcount of the National Food Crime Unit.Year Headcount2019 66.62020 70.12021 75.32022 77.32023 77.2 TARGET DATE 11/07/2023The above figures include all staff on FSA Payroll on the last day of March in each of the financial years and include casual employees and loans and secondments where FSA is paying greater than 50% of the salary but exclude Board and Committee members.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take steps to review the NHS Business Services Authority policy on prescription penalty charges.

Neil O'Brien: We have no current plans to make a review. NHS Penalty Charge Notices are issued in accordance with the National Health Service (Penalty Charge) Regulations 1999.

Lloyds Pharmacy: Closures

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made assessment of the implication for its policies of Lloyds Pharmacy plan to sell pharmacy branches and contracts they hold across the UK.

Neil O'Brien: No specific assessment has been made. There are mechanisms in place through Local Authority Pharmaceutical Needs Assessments to identify where there is a need for additional pharmaceutical services in an area.The Department continues to closely monitor patient access to NHS pharmaceutical services across England. Access remains good with 80 percent of people living within 20 minutes walking of a pharmacy and twice as many pharmacies in the more deprived areas.

Dental Services: Training

Bob Seely: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason NHS dentists are required to have an extra year of training compared to private dentists.

Neil O'Brien: To practice in the National Health Service, dental graduates must complete a further one year of training on a Dental Foundation Training scheme. This helps ensure that dentists have the necessary competences and meet the necessary standards to practice in the NHS

Neuromuscular Disorders

Dean Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to provide support for people with (a) Corticobasal Degeneration and (b) Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.

Dean Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure early diagnosis of Corticobasal Degeneration and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.

Helen Whately: While the Department is not taking steps to ensure early diagnosis of Corticobasal Degeneration and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy specifically, the 2021 UK Rare Diseases Framework aims to improve the awareness of all rare diseases which includes these conditions. England’s second Rare Diseases Action Plan, published in February 2023, reports on progress made to help patients get a final diagnosis faster and outlines new actions such as commissioning research on how best to measure the diagnostic odyssey.An individual with Corticobasal Degeneration and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy can be affected in many ways, therefore support available will depend on individual need. Patients with these conditions would typically be supported through the usual range of commissioned health and social care services, including neurology services. There is not a separately commissioned service for this diagnosis.

Palliative Care

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide patients with access to palliative care specialists when patients receive life-limiting or terminal diagnoses.

Will Quince: Not all patients will require specialist palliative care when they receive a life-limiting diagnosis. To ensure the health and social care workforce, including volunteers, are equipped and well- supported to deliver personalised care to people at the end of life, Health Education England, now part of NHS England, hosts the End of Life Care for All e-learning training programme. This training includes the module ’Breaking Bad News’.Following identification of an individual likely to be in the last 12 months of life, it is recommended best practice that the individual is offered a personalised care and support plan and advance care plan to identify and address needs, preferences and wishes, including where specialist level palliative care may be of benefit.

NHS: Staff

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish comparative data on (a) anticipated NHS workforce retirements and (b) the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan; and if will make a statement.

Will Quince: The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan sets out actions to deliver sustained gains in retention across the whole workforce. The collective impact of the Plan’s proposals are expected to reduce the leaver rate for NHS employed staff from 9.1% in 2022 to between 7.4% and 8.2% over the course of the modelling period, equivalent to retaining 55,000 to 128,000 full time equivalent. These are lower than published leaver rates as they do not include those leaving NHS temporarily such as on maternity leave.Retirement is one of several reasons staff leave the NHS. Estimates for retirement separate from leavers overall are not made within the Plan’s modelling.The National Audit Office (NAO) will carry out an independent assessment of the modelling behind the Plan. The NAO anticipates publishing their independent assessment in the first half of 2024.

Motor Neurone Disease

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is providing funding to the Brighton and Sussex Medical School to develop a treatment for Motor Neurone Disease.

Will Quince: The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including research into treatments for motor neurone disease (MND). NIHR does not ring-fence funds for expenditure on particular topics. In all disease areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.The Department, via the NIHR is not providing funding to the Brighton and Sussex Medical School to develop a treatment for MND.

Motor Neurone Disease

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) therapies and (b) treatments his Department is funding to treat Motor Neurone Disease.

Will Quince: Patients with motor neurone disease (MND) require access to a range of NHS services. Riluzole is the only drug licensed in the UK to slow the progression of MND. Riluzole was recommended by the National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) in 2001 for the treatment of individuals with the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) form of MND within its licensed indications, which are to extend life or the time to mechanical ventilation for individuals with ALS. NICE is currently evaluating a potential new treatment, Tofersen, for ALS caused by SOD1 gene mutations and, subject to licensing, expects to publish guidance in July 2024.NHS England commissions the specialised care and treatment that patients with MND may receive from the specialised neurological treatment centres across England. Integrated Care Boards are responsible for the commissioning of the non-specialised elements of treatment and care patients with MND may require. Funding decisions for both the specialised and non-specialised elements of patients’ care are made in line with local needs and priorities.

Coronavirus: Immunosuppression

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what representations he has had from (a) medical professionals and (b) patients groups on access to free lateral flow tests for (i) immunocompromised patients and (ii) close contacts of immunocompromised patients after October 2023.

Maria Caulfield: Information on all representations from medical professionals and patients groups about access to free lateral flow tests for immunocompromised patients and close contacts of immunocompromised patients after October 2023, could only be provided at a disproportionate cost.As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement on 30 March 2023, in 2023/24 the Government will maintain a range of capabilities to protect those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Given the continued effectiveness of vaccines and improved treatments, for most people there is a much lower risk of severe illness compared to earlier in the pandemic.Appropriate levels of testing remain to support diagnosis for clinical care and treatment and to protect very high-risk individuals and settings. Those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and immunocompromised are part of the group who are eligible for COVID-19 treatments in the community enabling them easy access to anti-viral treatments.Testing of symptomatic staff remains in a very limited number of high-risk settings to protect particularly vulnerable people, such as in some hospices and some NHS settings where staff work with profoundly immunocompromised patients. Information on testing in these settings is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-testing-during-periods-of-low-prevalence

Neurology

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to improve the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of functional neurological disorders.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the clinical guidance on the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of functional neurological disorders.

Helen Whately: The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently developing a guideline on rehabilitation for chronic neurological disorders and acquired brain injury. Functional Neurological Disorders (FND) will be covered in this guideline and NICE expects to publish the final guideline in September 2024. NICE also published the ‘Suspected neurological conditions: recognition and referral’ guideline in 2019, to assist with diagnosis of FND.

Hospices: Children

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to extend the NHS Children's Hospice Grant into the 2024-2025 financial year.

Helen Whately: NHS England has now confirmed that it will be renewing the grant for 2024/25, once again allocating £25 million grant funding for children’s hospices. NHS England will confirm the funding mechanism and individual allocations in due course.

Neurology

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the treatment offered by the NHS in (a) Slough and (b) England to patients diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the availability of rehabilitation therapy services for patients in Slough who are diagnosed with functional neurological disorders.

Helen Whately: As with the majority of NHS services, integrated care boards, are responsible for commissioning local services such as rehabilitation for patients with Functional Neurological Disorders (FND), including those in Slough. There is no one single approach to managing patients with FND. Treatment may involve drugs to manage specific symptoms, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, rehabilitation care and psychological support.

Mental Health Services: Nurses

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, published on 3 July 2023, what funding his Department has allocated to increase training positions for mental health nurses.

Will Quince: The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan sets out the steps the NHS and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. It will put the workforce on a sustainable footing for the long term.The Government is backing the Plan with over £2.4 billion over the next five years to fund additional education and training places over five years. This is on top of increases to education and training investment, reaching a record £6.1 billion over the next two years.The Plan sets out an ambition to increase training places for mental health nursing by 93%, to more than 11,000 places by 2031/32. To support this ambition, by 2028/29 we will increase training places by 38%, with increases of 13% seen by 2025/26.

Mental Health Services: Nurses

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many additional mental health nurses the NHS plans to recruit in each of the next five years.

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many additional mental health staff the NHS plans to recruit in each of the next five years.

Will Quince: The published NHS Long Term Workforce Plan models the expected number of staff in different professions over the next 15 years. This includes mental health and learning disability nurses which is shown in Table 1. The wider mental health workforce is not separated out in the plan.The following table shows the projected supply of mental health and learning disability nurses by 2036/37.ProfessionStarting PositionProjected Supply2021/222026/272031/322036/37Mental health and learning disability nurses21,00028,000 – 29,00034,000 – 37,00046,000 – 48,000Source: Long Term Workforce PlanThe NHS Long Term Workforce Plan also highlights the increase in domestic education and training needed to meet demand in the future. For mental health, modelled demand is based on the NHS Mental Health Implementation Plan and Mental Health Investment Standard. The Mental Health Plan Long term plan also sets out an ambition for 27,000 additional mental health staff by 2023/24 compared to 2018/19.The following table shows the increase required in education and training by profession Training IntakeProfessionBaseline (2022)2025202620272028Nursing – Mental health branch5,7146,4526,8257,3337,902Note:Current intake is based on the Student Data Collection which includes undergraduate, postgraduate and apprentices.

NHS: Staff

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, published on 3 July 2023, what steps he is taking to help improve staff retention within the NHS.

Will Quince: The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, published on 30 June 2023, is a plan to retain more staff as well as to train more staff and reform the way they work. This includes pension changes, enabling newly retired doctors to rejoin the National Health Service. The plan builds on the NHS People Plan and People Promise, which set out a comprehensive range of actions to improve staff retention. They provide a strong focus on creating a more modern, compassionate and inclusive NHS culture by strengthening health and wellbeing, equality and diversity, culture and leadership and flexible working.NHS providers have been asked to improve staff retention measures in their workforce plans, by focussing on elements of the NHS People Promise. Staff wellbeing should be strategically aligned with elective recovery plans, including workforce demand and capacity planning.In addition, the NHS Retention Programme is continuously seeking to understand why staff leave, resulting in targeted interventions to support staff to stay whilst keeping them well. A staff retention guide has been updated and includes information on supporting staff in their late and early career with specific focus on induction, reward and recognition and menopause support.

Hospices: Pay

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has held with with (a) charitable hospices and (b) other voluntary sector organisations on the potential impact of the new pay settlement for NHS staff on the Agenda for Change pay scale.

Will Quince: The Secretary of State has not discussed this with charitable hospices and other voluntary sector organisations. Department officials continue to proactively engage with stakeholders, including the voluntary sector, on an ongoing basis.

Incontinence: Products

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 1 June 2023 to Question 186357 on Incontinence: Products, how the most economically advantageous tender approach in relation to procurement of absorbent continence products takes into account (a) whole system costs, and (b) item pricing; and what steps he is taking to help ensure the approach (i) does not deter product innovation, (ii) does not adversely impact patient quality of life and health outcomes, (iii) decrease resilience in the supply chain and (iv) incur additional costs.

Will Quince: The NHS Supply Chain have a disposable continence framework in place which runs until August 2025. All suppliers are awarded onto the framework, with evaluation based on the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT). Financial and non-financial evaluations are undertaken independently of each other. When a trust selects a supplier, the trust will evaluate potential suppliers on the framework, evaluating the subjective, qualitative features of ease of use, comfort, comparative reduction in leakages, quality of life and health outcomes.NHS Supply Chain are currently in the process of working on two separate value-based procurement projects, both of which aim to concentrate on leaks, reduction in mobility, loss of dignity, reduction in quality of life, or risk of skin infections and pressure ulcers.The Government's new Medical Technology Strategy, published in February 2023, set out how the health and social care system can reliably access safe, effective and innovative medical technologies that support the continued delivery of high-quality care, outstanding patient safety and excellent patient outcomes in a way that makes the best use of taxpayer money. To deliver value for money and affordability across the whole patient pathway, DHSC, NHS Supply Chain and NHS England are building on work to develop a consistent methodology for value-based procurement of innovative products.

Hospices: Finance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to increase the amount of statutory funding for hospices.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) funding and (b) equality of access to palliative care provided by Integrated Care Board strategies.

Helen Whately: Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for determining the level of NHS funded palliative and end of life care, including hospice care, locally, and they are responsible for ensuring that the services they commission meet the needs of their local population.While the NHS has always been required to commission appropriate palliative and end of life care services to meet the reasonable needs of the population, as part of the Health and Care Act 2022, the Government added palliative care services to the list of services an ICB must commission, to clarify this responsibility.NHS England has actively increased its support to local commissioners to improve the accessibility, quality and sustainability of palliative and end of life care for all. This has included the publication of statutory guidance and service specifications.

NHS England: Subsidiary Companies

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the establishment of wholly-owned subsidiary companies by (a) NHS trusts and (b) foundation trusts on the morale of NHS staff.

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the establishment of wholly owned subsidiary companies by (a) NHS trusts and (b) foundation trusts on workforce retention.

Will Quince: There has been no assessment made of the potential impact of the establishment of wholly owned subsidiary companies by NHS trusts or foundation trusts on morale or workforce retention. NHS England published guidance in 2018 setting out the regulatory review process required before NHS trusts and foundation trusts can implement plans involving subsidiaries. As part of this review, NHS England consider engagement with staff and trade unions. NHS England routinely involve regional workforce leads in the review process where a subsidiary proposal involves changes to the workforce. NHS England work in conjunction with trusts and trade unions, setting out good practice workforce engagement and consultation guidance for trusts considering setting up or dissolving a subsidiary.

Bridlington Hospital

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to increase the range of health services provided by Bridlington Hospital; and if he will make a statement.

Will Quince: Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for healthcare services which meet the reasonable needs of the people for whom they are responsible. ICBs are responsible for evaluating the changing needs of the populations for which they are responsible and planning new service provision as required.

Medical Records: Disclosure of Information

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to prevent patient data from being accessed by website trackers on (a) the NHS North Bristol Trust and (b) other NHS England websites.

Will Quince: Each NHS organisation is responsible for its website and for ensuring that any tracking technology used on its site meets strict legal requirements. As soon as NHS Bristol Trust became aware of this issue they engaged with the Information Commissioner’s Office and took immediate steps to protect the privacy of their website users, removing Meta Pixel from their website and strengthening the cookies consent process.In June 2023, NHS England published guidance for all NHS organisations on website activity trackers and how to ensure they are used appropriately, including how to audit the tracking and profiling which takes place on their website. The guidance also includes links to more detailed guidance provided by the Information Commissioner’s Office. Whilst NHS England does use cookies and similar technologies on its website, those technologies are not used to share patient data held by NHS England.

Northern Ireland Office

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 27 April 2022 to Question 156551 on Terrorism: Birmingham, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill on criminal investigations associated with the Troubles.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Northern Ireland Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to clause 37(3) of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill, whether he has received notifications from the (a) Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and (b) Chief officer of any police force in Great Britain of any active criminal investigations into Troubles-related offences as of 4 July 2023.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Northern Ireland Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Broadband: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2023 to Question 161241 on Broadband, if he will hold discussions with Invest NI on taking steps to highlight the availability of gigabit-capable broadband to potential inward investors.

Mr Steve Baker: Northern Ireland is leading the way for gigabit-capable broadband across the UK with over 90% coverage, made possible by a competitive commercial supplier market and substantial UK Government funding. The broadband connectivity in Northern Ireland presents an excellent opportunity for investors. Many cyber technology, financial technology, and wider digital investors are already capitalising on this infrastructure, providing fantastic local employment across Northern Ireland. The Department for Business and Trade is working with the Northern Ireland Office and Invest Northern Ireland on the Investment Summit taking place in Belfast. This will promote Northern Ireland as a leading destination to live, work, and invest. Many factors contribute to this, including brilliant connectivity infrastructure.

Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery: Staff

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many staff in his Department are working in the secretariat for the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.

Chris Heaton-Harris: As set out at the time of the announcement that Sir Declan Morgan had been identified as Chief Commissioner-designate of the ICRIR, and in line with the Cabinet Office Public Bodies Guidance, a dedicated secretariat, supporting the preparatory work being undertaken by Sir Declan, has been established as a separate business unit of the Northern Ireland Office. It has a separate budget and staffing and does not report to Northern Ireland Office Ministers. At present the secretariat is made up of 19 staff members.

Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to paragraph 310 of the Explanatory Notes to the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill, what funding previously set aside by the Government is to be used for the financial implications of that Bill.

Chris Heaton-Harris: £250 million has been allocated to the implementation of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill and the non-legislative memorialisation measures announced alongside it. This will be drawn from funds set aside for legacy mechanisms under the Stormont House Agreement and the New Decade, New Approach agreement.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Israel: Palestinians

Sarah Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of changes in the levels of violence against civilians in the West Bank this year.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The security situation in the West Bank is deteriorating and further escalation must be avoided. The UK unequivocally condemns terror attacks against civilians, and strongly support's Israel's right to self-defence. The Foreign Secretary discussed the recent violence in the West Bank in and urged the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh to tackle terror and incitement on 5 July. When conducting military operations, Israeli armed forces' conduct must also always be in line with international humanitarian law, including the principles of proportionality, distinction and necessity, and they must prioritise the protection of civilians when defending their legitimate security interest. On 5 July, the Foreign Secretary spoke to Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, where he urged the Government of Israel to ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the total cost of accommodation and meals was for (a) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and (b) Afghan citizens resettlement scheme cases in Pakistan between April 2022 and July 2023.

Leo Docherty: The cost incurred by HMG in providing accommodation and meals in Pakistan, between April 2022 and June 2023, to individuals eligible under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy was approximately £21.4 million, and under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme Pathway 3 was approximately £690,000.

EU Countries: Visas

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he (a) has had and (b) plans to have discussions with the EU on lengthening the duration of Schengen Area visas for UK citizens travelling to the EU for longer than 90 days.

Leo Docherty: The UK's Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU confirms that both the UK and EU currently provide for visa-free travel for short-term visits for each other's nationals in accordance with their respective laws.The UK's offer to EU citizens is the same as our offer to the nationals of all other countries. Similarly, the EU has legislated to grant British citizens the same visa-free travel permissions they offer as standard to all other third countries.The Government's focus is on the smooth, robust and effective implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Pacific Ocean Islands: Diplomatic Relations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what meetings he has had with the Honorary Consuls of nations situated within the Pacific Island region over the past 12 months.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Foreign Secretary has not met any Honorary Consuls from the Pacific Island Countries (PIC).

Hong Kong: Arrest Warrants

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions has he had with international counterparts on the issuing of arrest warrants for Hong Kong nationals living overseas.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: As the Foreign Secretary made clear on 3 July, we will not tolerate any attempts by China to intimidate and silence individuals in the UK. The US, Australia and Canada have also spoken out in robust terms. The UK and its allies will always defend the universal right to freedom of expression and stand up for those targeted simply for exercising that right.We will continue to act as a convening power, bringing together our international partners to stand up for the people of Hong Kong, to call out violations of their rights and freedoms, and to hold China to its international obligations.

Myanmar: Human Rights

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions has he had with international counterparts on (a) strengthening and (b) supporting the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: We continue to regularly raise the human rights situation in Myanmar with international partners and in international fora. In April, the UK co-sponsored a Human Rights Council Resolution welcoming the work and extending the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar. We regularly meet with the Special Rapporteur to discuss the human rights situation in Myanmar, most recently in June.

Myanmar: Foreign Relations

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the level of third-country military support to the Junta in Myanmar; and what discussions has he had with his counterparts in the region on that support.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK is a longstanding supporter of an arms embargo on Myanmar. We are clear that countries should not sell arms to the Myanmar military. In March 2022, the UK coordinated a joint statement with 47 countries, committing signatories to preventing the flow of arms to Myanmar. In March 2023, the UK announced its fifteenth round of sanctions, targeting those profiting from supplying aviation fuel and military equipment to the military. We raise the Myanmar crisis regularly with international partners bilaterally and in multilateral fora, including at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and G7.

AUKUS

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the AUKUS partnership; and what plans the Government has for participation in that alliance over the next 12 months.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Since the launch of the AUKUS defence and security partnership in September 2021, we have announced the optimal pathway under Pillar 1 of the partnership to provide Australia with a nuclear-powered conventionally armed submarine capability. We are also making rapid progress on AUKUS Pillar 2, delivering a suite of advanced capabilities, with the first AUKUS AI and autonomy trial hosted in the UK in April this year. This is just the start of an unprecedented partnership. All three states are committed for the long term and are convinced AUKUS will benefit our own, Indo-Pacific, and global security.

Tunisia: Human Rights

James Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the government of Tunisia and (b) other international partners on the human rights situation in that country.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We monitor the human rights situation in Tunisia closely. The UK urges the Tunisian Government to respect the principles and values of an open and democratic society at every available opportunity. Most recently, the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, reiterated this message during his meeting with the Tunisian Foreign Minister on 4 May. The UK also coordinates with likeminded partners on how to collectively address human rights. For example, Lord Ahmad's statement of 18 April on the arrest of Rached Ghannouchi reflected an international alignment of views on the case.

Members: Correspondence

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to respond to the letter of 14 June 2023 from Members of both Houses of Parliament on concerns over the visit of the Crown Prince of Bahrain.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The FCDO issued a response to the correspondence in question on 06 July 2023.

Minerals: UK Trade with EU

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to take steps to agree a critical raw materials agreement with the European Union.

Leo Docherty: The UK is engaging with the EU and Member States to explore ways of working together to meet shared net zero and supply chain security objectives on critical raw materials. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, visited Brussels on 27 June where he met European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis. The Chancellor and Commissioner Dombrovskis discussed future cooperation in strengthening pan-European supply and value chains and enhancing supply chain security, including critical minerals.

Liechtenstein: Diplomatic Relations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he met representatives of the Principality of Liechtenstein in the past 12 months.

Leo Docherty: The Foreign Secretary has not held bilateral meetings with representatives of the Principality of Liechtenstein in the past 12 months. The Minister for Europe met Liechtenstein Foreign Minister Dominique Hasler in the margins of the Ukraine Recovery Conference on 22 June, this followed on from his visit to Vaduz in February for meetings with officials.

Montserrat: Tourism

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of the tourism industry in Montserrat.

David Rutley: I [Minister Rutley] refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 31 May 2023 to Question UIN 186051 which can be found on the Parliamentary Written Questions and Answers webpages: [https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-05-22/186051]

British Overseas Territories: European Union

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic assistance his Department is providing to the UK Overseas Territories in their engagement with the European Union.

David Rutley: We work in partnership with the British Overseas Territories to promote and safeguard their interests with international partners. We use our diplomatic resources and influence to support and facilitate their engagement with the European Union. For example, we support the Overseas Territory Governments to access EU markets and the opening of local offices in Brussels. The UK, working side-by-side with the Government of Gibraltar, remains committed to concluding a UK-EU treaty in respect of Gibraltar as soon as possible.

Bermuda: Development Aid

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is providing assistance to economic diversification in Bermuda.

David Rutley: The UK is committed to supporting the economic resilience of all Overseas Territories to build and maintain prosperity, and recognise that Territory Governments have between them a wealth of experience in delivering successful economic diversification. As this issue is a devolved responsibility of the Government of Bermuda, the UK Government is therefore supportive of Bermuda's own efforts to diversify its economy and encourage investment.

Development Aid: Training

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the letter of 13 June 2023 from the Minister for Development and Africa to the Chair of the International Development Committee on the provisional statistics on international development for 2022, since which year his Department has offered the working-level ODA learning day to all Government Departments spending Official Development Assistance; which Government Departments attended the working-level ODA learning day delivered by his Department in (a) May 2023 and (b) each of the previous years in which his Department offered that learning day; and how many officials, at which grades, of each of those Departments attended that learning day in (i) May 2023 and (ii) each of the previous years in which his Department offered that learning day.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Official Development Assistance (ODA) learning day in May 2023 was attended by around 100 working level officials across government ranging from grades AO to G6. All ODA spending departments were invited which included: Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ), Department for Education (DFE), Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC), Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC), Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT), Department for Work & Pensions (DWP), HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), HM Treasury (HMT), Home Office (HO), Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Office for National Statistics (ONS). Departments decide the most appropriate attendees.The ODA learning days began in 2017 and have been held annually since with around 50-100 attendees from ODA spending departments at the time. It would be of disproportionate cost to identify the exact numbers of attendees and grades as this information was not collected at the time.

Development Aid: Disclosure of Information

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the letter of 13 June 2023 from the Minister for Development and Africa to the Chair of the International Development Committee on the provisional statistics on international development for 2022, on what date the HMG Transparency Community of Practice last met; and how many officials, at which grades, attended that meeting.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The HMG Transparency Community of Practice last met on Thursday 29 June, 2023. 24 officials attended the meeting, joining from multiple Official Development Assistance-spending Whitehall departments. Attendees were from the delegated grades. The FCDO does not collate data of the specific grades of individual officials attending the meeting, but attendance is focused on key policy and technical leads for publication to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) standard within each department.

British International Investment: Complaints

Ms Anum Qaisar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a new independent complaints mechanism for British International Investment.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: British International Investment (BII) has an effective complaints mechanism [https://www.bii.co.uk/en/complaints-whistleblowing/] that allows external parties to report alleged breaches of the Policy on Responsible Investing (PRI). If deemed eligible, complaints will be investigated, and where appropriate, BII will enable access to remedy.The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism is under the direction of the Head of Compliance. Decisions required under the Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are made independently of the departments involved in pre-investment due diligence and post-investment monitoring of environmental, social and business integrity issues. The Head of Compliance has a reporting line to the Board's Audit & Compliance Committee.FCDO undertakes periodic reviews of BII's assurance processes and recommends actions to improve their robustness, and monitors implementation of these. Any significant issues reported to FCDO regarding BII are notified to FCDO's Internal Audit and Investigations Department.

Allied Democratic Forces: Finance

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the final report of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, published by the UN Security Council on 13 June 2023, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on support for authorities in (a) Kenya, (b) South Africa, (c) Uganda and (d) other countries in (i) shutting down and (ii) prosecuting illicit financial networks funding the Allied Democratic Forces.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK welcomes the UN Group of Experts (GoE) comprehensive report on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - we stand behind the GoE and the critical work they do. The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) is already under UK and UN sanctions. In addition, we are working with a number of African Governments to address loopholes in existing legislation that enables illicit financing of groups such as the ADF, including in Kenya where we have agreed a new security compact that includes joint efforts to tackle illicit financing such as systems strengthening, coordination, and regulatory supervision. The UK has also recently announced an illicit finance development campaign which allows us to a) Boost global efforts to trace the proceeds of corruption through the International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre (IACCC), based in London, and b) encourage better beneficial ownership information globally.

British International Investment: DP World

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much British International Investment paid DP World between (a) October 2021 and March 2022 and (b) March 2022 and July 2023.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Ports are vital to the long-term prosperity of the African continent, yet Africa accounts for just 4 per cent of global containerised shipping volumes. British International Investment's (BII) partnership is supporting the modernising and expansion of three ports in Dakar, Sokhna and Berbera, helping to improve access to vital goods for 35 million people. By 2035, an estimated $51 billion in additional trade is forecast to pass through the ports, equivalent to 3 per cent of Senegal's and Egypt's GDP and 6 per cent of Somaliland's GDP.In 2021, BII committed approximately $320 million to the joint venture. BII has so far disbursed $290 million, all of which has been disbursed between March 2022 to end of June 2023.

Marine Environment: Conservation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs if he will support the agenda item proposed by France, Chile, Palau and Vanuatu, entitled Establishment of a general policy by the Assembly related to the conservation of the marine environment, including in consideration of the effects of the two-year rule, for the Assembly meeting of the 28th Session of the International Seabed Authority between 24 and 28 July 2023.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK have noted the late proposal of the agenda item from France, Chile, Palau, and Vanuatu at the Assembly meeting of the 28th Session of the International Seabed Authority and are currently considering the UK position. The UK has committed not to sponsor or support the issuing of any exploitation licences for deep-sea mining projects unless and until there is sufficient scientific evidence about the potential impact on deep-sea ecosystems and strong and enforceable environmental regulations and standards have been developed by the International Seabed Authority and are in place. The UK's approach is precautionary and conditional.

Sudan: Minority Groups

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the impacts of actions of (a) Rapid Support Forces and (b) the Sudanese Armed Forces on religious minorities in Sudan's (i) Blue Nile and (ii) South Kordofan states.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK condemns the rising violence across Sudan. We note reports of heavy fighting in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), as well as between SAF and Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The spread of violence to these states has brought with it the killing of civilians and sexual assault of women, amongst other human rights abuses. We continue to demand that the warring parties respect calls for a ceasefire, humanitarian access be granted and those responsible be held to account. We will support international efforts to secure a permanent cessation of hostilities and protection of civilians through statements and resolutions at the UN Human Rights Council and Security Council and through cooperation with counterparts from African, Quad (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, UK and US) and European countries. We are also engaging with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the African Union, where we are now working through a new Core Group to ensure inclusive regional and international action to secure a viable peace process. Following reports of attacks on churches and mosques since 15 April, we are monitoring growing infringements of religious freedom in Sudan and continue to promote freedom of religion or belief as a means of enhancing tolerance and inclusion.

Department for Work and Pensions

Support for Mortgage Interest

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 2.7(m) of the minutes of the Social Security Advisory Committee meeting held on 25 January 2023, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of advice provided to the committee on the potential impact of interest rates on changes to the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme.

Mims Davies: The advice given to the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) was, and remains, accurate. The rate of SMI we pay is based on the Bank of England published average rate and recently increased from 2.09% to 2.65% in May 2023. Any further changes to the interest rate will occur when the Bank of England average mortgage rate differs by 0.5 percentage points or more from the rate in payment. As we use an average figure, some people will receive more than the amount of interest charged on their mortgage and others less. We have broad agreement with the lending industry that the amount we pay in SMI will be sufficient to avert any threat of repossession, even where that is less than the borrowers contracted liability.

Pensions: Gender

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference his Department's document entitled The gender pensions gap in private Pensions statistical release on 5 June 2023, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the gender pensions gap (a) overall and (b) amongst individuals with Defined Contribution pension wealth only.

Laura Trott: The Government has taken significant steps to close the gender pensions gap overall and for individuals with Defined Contribution pension wealth only. Under the new State Pension – average weekly amounts are expected to equalise for men and women reaching State Pension age in the near future – much earlier than they would have under the old system. Automatic Enrolment brought millions of women into pension saving for the very first time with 86% of eligible women now being auto enrolled. Building on the 2017 AE review, legislation is currently progressing through Parliament. There measures will benefit over 3 million workers, around half of whom will be women. More broadly hundreds of thousands more working parents will be supported through the extension of free childcare announced in the Spring budget, more than doubling the current support in place. The publication of an official annual measure will help us track the collective efforts of government, industry and employers to close the Gender Pensions Gap.

Pensions: Gender

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Gender Pensions Gap in Private Pensions statistical release on 5 June 2023, whether his Department plans to publish regular updates to those statistics.

Laura Trott: The Department plans to release this measure annually.

Local Housing Allowance

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing local housing allowance rates.

Mims Davies: The Local Housing Allowance policy is reviewed annually by the Secretary of State. The Department monitors average rents and housing support levels provided to claimants to assess the impact of the policy and the merits of any potential changes prior to a fiscal event. In 2020 we spent almost £1 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of market rents. This significant investment has been maintained ensuring that everyone who benefited continues to do so. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas. For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and need further support. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.6 billion in DHP funding to local authorities.

Department for Work and Pensions: Surveillance

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 24 November 2022 on Security Update on Surveillance Equipment, WMS 386, whether they have (a) ceased deployment of visual surveillance systems produced by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China onto sensitive sites, (b) ensured no such equipment is connected to their departmental core network, (c) considered whether there are sites outside the definition of sensitive sites to which they would wish to extend risk mitigation and (d) put in place any additional controls or taken any further steps.

Mims Davies: On 24 November 2022, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster published a Written Ministerial Statement noting that departments had been instructed to take a series of actions relating to surveillance equipment subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China. This Government Department has been implementing this policy along with other protective security controls. At Report Stage of the Procurement Bill, the Government committed that, within six months of Royal Assent, the Government will set out the timeline for the removal of surveillance equipment supplied by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of China from sensitive sites. This department will be providing information to the Cabinet Office to support this commitment. It is a longstanding Government policy that specific security arrangements regarding Government estates are withheld on security grounds.

Universal Credit: Deductions

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2023 to Question187662 on Universal Credit: Deductions, what the (a) number and (b) total amount of debts to the Government registered against Universal Credit households between March 2022 and February 2023 was, broken down by each Department.

Guy Opperman: Information on the number and amount of Universal Credit debt broken down by each department is not held.

Jobcentres: Staff

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2023 to Question 187982 on Jobcentres: Staff, for what reason the number of full-time equivalent work coaches employed by his Department was lower in June 2023 than in June 2022.

Guy Opperman: During the Pandemic, as a department we looked to recruit a number of temporary Work Coaches to help us maintain an unprecedented increase in caseload.

Employment: British National (Overseas)

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to support those on a British National (Overseas) Visa to enter work.

Guy Opperman: Individuals who have a British National (Overseas) visa have the right to work and study in the UK, but in most circumstances would have a No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition attached to their visa. DWP has no powers to award Universal Credit to those with NRPF. They can apply to have their NRPF condition lifted by making a ‘change of condition’ application if they are destitute or at risk of destitution, if the welfare of their child is at risk due to their low income, or where there are other exceptional financial circumstances. If this application is successful then they can apply for Universal Credit and access the full range of DWP employment services.

Universal Credit: Childcare

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2023 to Question 190908 on Universal Credit: Childcare, whether the introduction of upfront payments for childcare costs for people on Universal Credit will apply to claimants who are already in work and do not increase their hours.

Guy Opperman: For those UC claimants who are already in work, the amount they can claim back has significantly increased by more than £300 a month for one child, from £646.35 to £950.92, and by more than £500 a month for two or more children, from £1,108.04 to £1,630.15.Universal Credit (UC) claimants who are already in work and not increasing their working hours will not be eligible for the upfront childcare costs support.

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and War Pensions

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of compensation from the (a) Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and (b) War Pension Scheme have had their payments considered as income in welfare benefit means tests in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, (iii) 2021, (iv) 2022 and (v) 2023.

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department deducted from welfare benefits as a result of (a) Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and (b) War Pensions Scheme payments being considered as income in (i) 2019, (ii) 2020, (iii) 2021, (iv) 2022 and (v) 2023.

Guy Opperman: War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Payments are not taken into account in Universal Credit. Guaranteed Income Payments, Service Attributable Pensions and service-attributable, non-taxable Service Invalidity Pensions are also not taken into account. The requested data is not available for other welfare benefits.

Jobcentres: Staff

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many work coaches his Department plans to (a) recruit and (b) train in the next 12 months.

Guy Opperman: The number of work coaches being recruited is based on the absorption capacity into the business, ensuring recruits are effectively trained and supported through consolidation.

Jobcentres: Staff

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to (a) recruit and (b) train extra work coaches.

Guy Opperman: Yes, we are recruiting and training more work coaches.

Severe Disability Premium

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure people on transitional Severe Disability Premium are not adversely financially affected as a result of Universal Credit uprating.

Guy Opperman: The transitional Severe Disability Premium (SDP) element’s (SDP TE) serves as part of the wider transitional protection in place and is designed to support eligible claimants in their transition from legacy benefits to Universal Credit (UC). The Social Security Up-rating Regulations 2023 amended the rates used to calculate SDP TE for eligible new claims from 10th April 2023. This uprating aligns awards of the transitional element with the rate of uprating for wider benefits within the annual uprating order.

Social Security Benefits: Injuries and Death

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many internal process reviews her Department has (a) started and (b) completed on incidences of (i) death or (ii) serious harm between July 2022 and June 2023.

Tom Pursglove: Information on how many cases have been accepted to be taken forward for a full Internal Process Review (IPR), and where these were referred either due to customer death or harm, is included within this year’s Annual Report and Accounts, available at: DWP annual report and accounts 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).  This includes information on cases accepted for an IPR between July 2022 and March 2023. Information in relation to April to June 2023 will be published in next year’s Accounts. Information on how many IPRs have been completed between July 2022 and June 2023, where these were referred either due to customer death or harm is set out in the table below:  July 2022 – June 2023Customer Death[1]47Customer Harm[2]141 Customer Death includes the categories: death, alleged suicide and confirmed suicide.2 Customer Harm includes the categories: self-harm, serious harm, attempted suicide and ‘other’.

Unemployment: Chronic Illnesses

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 25 May 2023 to Question 186107 on Unemployment: Chronic Illnesses, whether his Department is undertaking further work to establish (a) whether and (b) to what extent there is a relationship between the growth in NHS waiting lists and long-term sickness in the labour market.

Tom Pursglove: A range of complex and interacting factors could be driving the rise in long-term sickness as the main reason for being economically inactive, including NHS waiting lists. The department is currently working with other departments and organisations to better understand these relationships as far as possible from available data.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Energy Supply: Fees and Charges

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing systems to compare energy suppliers' standing charges to consumers' ability to pay for energy.

Amanda Solloway: Changing standard charges would inevitably create trade-offs. Ofgem recently reviewed the components of the standing charge to assess if it could be reduced. They concluded that whilst some low consuming users might benefit, there are a number of higher consuming users, including vulnerable individuals and users with electric heating in areas off the gas grid, that would end up paying more through higher unit rates. As a result, Ofgem decided not to mandate changes to the standing charge calculation methodology.

Energy Charter Treaty

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the investor state dispute settlement clauses in the Energy Charter Treaty on the cost of resolving claims relating to new licences for fossil fuel exploration in the UK.

Graham Stuart: The UK has investment agreements with Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions with over 90 trading partners, including within the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). No successful ISDS claim has been brought against the UK. The UK has been an advocate for modernising the Energy Charter Treaty, including to allow ECT Contracting Parties to phase-out their investment protection for fossils fuels in line with their own decarbonisation targets. Since the decision to adopt the modernised Treaty has been postponed, the Government has been assessing the situation and will keep the House informed of developments.

Carbon Emissions: Industrial Energy Transformation Fund

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent estimate he has made of the effect on carbon emissions of the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund up to 4 July 2023.

Graham Stuart: Deployment projects supported by the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) will begin delivering energy and carbon emissions savings by 2027.

Energy Supply: Fees and Charges

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of linking the energy suppliers standing charges to number of units of energy used.

Amanda Solloway: Ofgem reviewed the components of the standing charge to see if they could be reduced, including the merits of a volumetric standing charge. Ofgem published the findings of their review in August last year and concluded that retaining the current methodology would protect higher consuming users with greater energy needs, such as disabled users and users with electric heating in areas off the gas grid. As a result, they would not be directing industry parties to make changes to the methodology.

Energy Supply: Fees and Charges

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the impact of changes in energy suppliers standing charges on the use of energy in low-income households.

Amanda Solloway: How suppliers choose to set the standing charge and unit rate is a commercial decision. However, the default tariff cap, set by Ofgem, puts a limit on the unit rates and standing charges that suppliers can charge for their default tariffs.In August 2022, Ofgem reviewed the components of the standing charge to see if they could be reduced. Ofgem concluded that, if the methodology for the standing charge were to change, there are numerous high consuming, vulnerable users, such as disabled users, who would pay more. Therefore, retaining the current methodology protects vulnerable users with greater energy needs.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many boiler upgrade installers there were in each of the last five years.

Graham Stuart: There are currently 1065 active companies registered with Ofgem to deliver installations as part of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. As the scheme launched in May 2022 this is the only year for which figures are available. Overall, the number of trained heat pump and biomass boiler installers active in England and Wales is greater than this, and Ofgem does not hold data regarding the number of individual installers employed by these companies.

Electricity: Storage

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June to Question 188651 on Electricity: Storage and with reference to the Government response to the Call for Evidence on large-scale, long-duration electricity storage, published in August 2022, whether he plans to a) have an appropriate framework and (b) develop appropriate policy to enable investment by 2024.

Andrew Bowie: Yes. As per the answer to Question 188651 on 13th June and In Powering Up Britain, the Government committed to put in place an appropriate framework by 2024 to enable investment in large scale long duration electricity storage (LLES), with the goal of deploying sufficient storage capacity to balance the overall system. We are currently undertaking the next phase of policy development to assess what policy approach is best suited to enable investment in LLES projects and anticipate further consultation with stakeholders later this year.

Electricity: Storage

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of a cap and floor mechanism as an option to enable investment in large-scale, long-duration electricity storage.

Andrew Bowie: Government is currently undertaking the next phase of policy development to assess what policy approach is best suited to enable investment in Large-scale, Long-duration Electricity Storage (LLES) projects. Government have been assessing a range of potential interventions, including cap and floor mechanisms, and their suitability to enable investment in LLES. Government anticipates further consultation with stakeholders later this year.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the sale of 2.4GW of UK offshore windfarm assets by Macquarie Asset Management to Macquarie Group Limited in April 2023.

Graham Stuart: The transaction between Macquarie Asset Management and Equitix in April is a commercial matter for the companies involved and has not been assessed by the Department.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will hold discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the recommendations made in the Offshore Wind Industry Council’s Offshore Wind Skills Intelligence Report 2023.

Graham Stuart: The Government welcomes publication of the report. The Government’s ambition for up to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030 and plans to strengthen energy security and attract investment into the UK, means that the skilled workforce must grow. It is expected that the sector will need to grow to support around 90,000 jobs by 2030. The Government works with industry on the development of a skilled offshore wind workforce through the Offshore Wind Industry Council Investment in Talent Group and the Green Jobs Delivery Group, the central forum for action on green jobs and skills.

Carbon Emissions: Industry

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent progress his Department has made on implementation of the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy.

Graham Stuart: The Government has made significant progress in implementing the 2021 Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, recognising that there is more to done. This includes: announcing the Track-1 projects in negotiation to support of the Government's ambition to capture 20-30 MtCO2 per year by 2030, funded from £20 billion of investment in CCUS; launching a consultation on policies designed to create a market for low carbon industrial goods; funding for projects to deliver Resource and Energy Efficiency (REEE) measures; and developing a net zero aligned Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) to send a strong market signal to incentivise industry to decarbonise.

Alternative Fuels: Carbon Emissions

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department plans to take to support people and businesses to switch to low carbon fuel alternatives.

Graham Stuart: The Government provides grant funding through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, Home Upgrade Scheme and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund. The ECO4 scheme and newly announced Great British Insulation scheme, due to launch in Summer 2023, are delivered through a supplier obligation. For businesses, £500 million of grant funding through the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund will support businesses with high energy usage to cut their energy bills and carbon emissions through investing in energy efficiency and low carbon technologies. The Government has improved its consumer advice, recently launching a campaign on Business Energy Efficiency and a consumer phoneline service to support the GOV.UK, ‘Find ways to save energy in your home’ webpage.

Energy: Meters

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July to Question 191670 on Energy: Meters, whether her Department plans to take steps to provide access to (a) dynamic and (b) off-peak tariffs for people who have not had a smart meter installed when the radio teleswitching service is withdrawn.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July to Question 191670 on Energy: Meters, whether her Department plans to extend access to the radio teleswitching service for households that have not had a smart meter installed by 31 March 2024.

Amanda Solloway: Radio Teleswitching Service (RTS) is an industry led system, and discussions are underway with the relevant RTS service providers to secure the ongoing operation of RTS into 2025. Smart meters are the natural technology upgrade for RTS. Energy suppliers are in the process of contacting consumers using RTS to upgrade to smart meters, which provide a range of flexible and dynamic tariffs to consumers, rewarding them for using electricity away from peak times. All smart meters can support tariffs which charge different prices throughout the day and night.

Energy: Housing

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of how many retrofit professionals working on (a) maintaining and (b) upgrading homes are required to meet the target of reducing energy consumption by 15 per cent by 2030.

Graham Stuart: In 2021, the CITB estimated that improving the fabric energy efficiency of every building in the country in need of retrofit would require 12,000 workers to be trained every year for the next four years and 30,000 workers per year in the subsequent five years. In the Net Zero Growth Plan, published in March 2023, the Government estimated that the ambition for driving the new green industry of low-carbon heating systems and energy efficiency measures could support around 240,000 jobs by 2035. The Government also launched an Energy Efficiency Taskforce to help reduce total UK energy demand by 15% from 2021 levels by 2030 across domestic and commercial buildings and industrial processes, while cutting bills and helping push down inflation.

Energy: Housing

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what information his Department holds on how many retrofit professionals have been working on (a) maintaining and (b) upgrading homes in each of the last five years.

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many retrofit coordinators there were in each of the last five years.

Graham Stuart: As of 4 July 2023, there were 2,082 businesses registered with TrustMark that met the requirements to take part in government retrofit schemes. There will be a higher number of businesses operating in the wider market. There are 673 TrustMark registered retrofit coordinators.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is taking steps to increase the number of boiler upgrade installers.

Graham Stuart: On 4 July 2023, the Heat Training Grant opened for heating engineers in England to apply for £500 towards training to become qualified heat pump installers. This is expected to support over 6,000 heat pump training opportunities up to 2025. A new Low Carbon Heating Technician apprenticeship will launch in England which is entirely focused on enabling learners to develop the skills to install low carbon heating technologies.

Energy: Community Development

Sally-Ann Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to support community energy schemes.

Graham Stuart: The Government’s approach to community energy is set out in the Net Zero Strategy. This includes running the Community Energy Contact Group to provide a dedicated forum to discuss the role that community energy can play in the delivery of net zero with the sector. The approach also includes support for community energy projects from Ofgem, which welcomes applications from the sector to the Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme. The Government is also supporting local authorities and community energy groups to work together to develop projects within UK Growth Funding schemes.

Energy: Medical Equipment

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will take steps to provide support for energy costs associated with the use of domestic medical equipment before April 2024.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will hold discussions with relevant stakeholders on the potential impact of using domestic medical equipment on household energy costs.

Amanda Solloway: As set out in the autumn statement, the Government is exploring the best approach to consumer protection from April 2024, as part of the wider retail market reforms. Currently, the government has no plans to provide any additional energy support other than the existing Energy Price Guarantee. Officials have had discussions with disability organisations, including Age UK, Alzheimer’s Society, Carer’s Trust, Centre for Sustainable Energy, Citizen’s Advice, Fair by Design, Leonard Cheshire, Leukaemia Care, Parkinson’s UK and SCOPE. As part of this work, they are working on assessing the need for specific support for disabled people and their households.

Ofgem: Managers

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what business appointment and governance rules apply to senior managers within Ofgem seeking to take up senior positions within companies regulated by that regulator.

Amanda Solloway: Ofgem has guidance for managers and all employees seeking to take up an outside appointment, that aligns with the Civil Service Management Code. Ofgem’s Business Appointment Rules (BAR) assess any concerns related to appointments sought by existing and former employees. Under the BAR, restrictions on taking up appointments may be required. It is the responsibility of employees to notify Ofgem of an outside appointment and to complete a BAR application. Ofgem is solely responsible for assessing whether an application under the BAR rules is required and for taking its own decisions. Further information can be found here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/bar-guidance-managers-and-all-employees

Carbon Emissions: Yorkshire and the Humber

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent steps he has taken to help decarbonise the Humber industrial region.

Graham Stuart: The Zero Carbon Humber Partnership is supported by UK Government funding through the Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge to support the rollout of decarbonisation technologies. CCUS technologies have the potential to accelerate the Government's decarbonisation ambitions in the Humber region. The East Coast Cluster was selected as part of the CCUS Programme’s Track-1. The process will be launched later this year to enable expansion of Track-1 clusters, including in the Humber. The Government has also set out its view that the Viking (Humber) transport and storage system, given its maturity, is one of those best placed to deliver the Government's objectives for Track-2 and an update will be provided in the summer.

Ministry of Defence

New Zealand: Military Alliances

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his New Zealand counterpart on defence cooperation in the Pacific region between the UK and New Zealand.

James Heappey: New Zealand is one of our closest partners in the Indo Pacific region and a staunch supporter of Ukraine. My right hon. Friend speaks regularly to his New Zealand counterpart on a whole range of issues including Pacific security, resilience and defence cooperation between our two countries. They last spoke in Singapore in June 2023.

Ministry of Defence: P&amp;O Ferries

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department made any payments to P&amp;O Ferries between 17 March 2022 and 1 July 2023.

James Cartlidge: The Ministry of Defence has made payments for the use of P&O Ferries services between 17 March 2022 and 1 July 2023 in support of operational movements and for business travel.

Armed Forces: Neurodiversity

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people had a neurodiverse condition in each armed service in each of the last three years.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Of the UK Armed Forces personnel who served between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2022, 3,742 had a Read code for at least one of the following conditions entered into their electronic medical record: autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, asperger’s. The table below provides a further breakdown for personnel by service and year: UK armed forces personnel with a Read code for a neurodiverse condition by year and service: 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2022 All202020212022All3,7422,9653,1203,131Royal Navy570414446490Army2,8922,2942,4212,398RAF280257253243

COBR

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many COBR meetings he (a) attended and (b) missed in (i) 2022 and (ii) 2023.

Mr Ben Wallace: It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they have met, is not normally shared.

LE TacCIS Programme

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2023 to Question 188871 on LE TacCIS Programme, what recent estimate he has made of when (a) discussions with General Dynamics will close and (b) a revised initial operating capability will be announced.

James Cartlidge: These matters are commercially sensitive. As such, it would be inappropriate to comment further until discussions have concluded.

NATO: Vilnius

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which UK Government ministers will be attending the 2023 NATO summit in Vilnius this month.

James Heappey: The Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary will attend the 2023 NATO Summit alongside the Prime Minister.

NATO: Vilnius

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officials from his Department will be attending the 2023 Vilnius NATO summit.

James Heappey: Eight Ministry of Defence officials are due to travel to the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius. Four officials will attend the NATO Summit with the Defence Secretary, and four officials will support his Vilnius programme.

Armed Forces: Food Banks

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the number of serving Armed Forces that have used food banks in the last 12 months.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence does not collect or hold information on the use of food banks by either military or civilian personnel. Any decision to use a food bank is a private and personal matter for the individual concerned Defence recognises that nobody is immune from the recent rises in inflation and the cost of living and is committed to doing what we can to assist Armed Forces personnel where possible, including implementing the independent Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body’s 2022 pay award recommendations in full, a pay uplift of 3.75%; capping subsidised accommodation charge increases to 1%; increasing travel allowances by 7%; no rise in food charges; over 32,000 Service personnel have received a Contribution in Lieu of Council Tax rebate of £150; and families can save around £3,400 per child per year through our wraparound childcare.

Military Aircraft

Sarah Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average number of task lines (a) available and (b) utilised per aircraft was in the (i) C-17 Globemaster, (ii) C-130J Hercules and (iii) A400M Atlas fleets in each year since 2017.

James Cartlidge: This information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ukraine: Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July to Question 191735 Ukraine: Military Aid,, when he expects contracts to be placed as part of Urgent Bidding Round 2.

James Cartlidge: The first package of capabilities to be procured as part of the International Fund for Ukraine (IFU) Urgent Bidding Round two process is a £92 million Air Defence package announced on 13 June 2023. In the four weeks since this package was approved by the IFU Executive Panel, negotiations have been taking place with successful bidders to confirm specifications, contractual terms, international aspects, and to ensure value for money for UK taxpayers and those of other IFU contributing nations. This commercial activity is being prioritised within Defence Equipment and Support and the aim is for these contracts to be finalised in a matter of weeks.

Ukraine: Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July to Question 191735 Ukraine: Military Aid, how many of the contracts placed from Urgent Bidding Round 1 have delivered capabilities to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

James Cartlidge: The International Fund for Ukraine (IFU) announced the first major package of capabilities from Urgent Bidding Round one on 15 February 2023. Following commercial checks and negotiations to confirm specifications, contractual terms and costs, six contracts have been placed as at 7 July 2023, and three of these are planned to begin delivering capabilities to the Ukrainian Armed Forces later this month.

Ajax Lessons Learned Review

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Report of the Armoured Cavalry Programme (Ajax) Lessons Learned Review by Clive Sheldon KC, published ion 19 May 2023, which of the recommendations in the Report his Department has (a) fully accepted; (b) partially accepted; and (c) rejected.

James Cartlidge: The Sheldon Review made 24 recommendations, of which the following 15 were accepted: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 20, 23 and 24. The remainder were accepted in principle; none were rejected.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have been evacuated from Afghanistan following applications by family members for leave outside the rules through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy.

James Heappey: As of 4 July 2023, 853 Additional Family Members have been approved for relocation under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy. Due to current data constraints, we are unable to breakdown this number by location.

Treasury

UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to implement trader support service declarations for movements between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Victoria Atkins: The Trader Support Service (TSS), which was launched in 2020, will continue to play an important role in helping businesses moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework. The TSS is free to use and can help businesses with completing declarations without them needing to engage directly with HMRC systems. It also provides a comprehensive educational offering on all relevant customs processes.

Bank Services: Freedom of Expression

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent financial institutions ending financial contracts on the basis of their clients' beliefs.

Andrew Griffith: The Government consulted in January-April 2023 specifically on the issue of contract termination and freedom of expression for payment service providers as part of its review of the relevant regulations – the Payment Services Regulations 2017 – and is currently reviewing the responses. The Government is committed to bringing a Written Ministerial Statement before the House to report on the Government’s findings on this matter, and to set out if any changes to regulation are necessary, ahead of its formal response to the Review.

Fair4All Finance: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent progress his Department has made with Fair4All Finance on rolling out a no-interest loan scheme in Northern Ireland.

Andrew Griffith: At Budget 2021, HM Treasury announced £3.8 million of funding to pilot a No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS), designed to help vulnerable consumers across all four nations of the UK who would benefit from affordable credit to meet unexpected costs.This pilot is being run by Fair4AllFinance, in conjunction with their partners. Fair4AllFinance are continuing to roll out the pilot more widely and HM Treasury are working with them to meet our shared ambition to launch a pilot site in Northern Ireland.

Credit

Stella Creasy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an estimate of the number of (a) customers using buy now pay later products, (b) buy now pay later loans taken out and (c) the number of defaults for buy now pay later (i) products and (ii) loans, between January and June 2023 broken down by month.

Andrew Griffith: HM Treasury regularly monitors changes in the consumer credit market as part of its normal process of policy development. However, it does not hold precise information on the number of customers using Buy-Now Pay-Later (BNPL) products, the number of BNPL agreements taken out, and the number of defaults on those agreements between January and June 2023. Instead, HM Treasury draws on the research of various stakeholders, including consumer groups and the wider financial services industry, to inform policy development.

Bank Services: Vulnerable Adults

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps his Department is taking to help ensure vulnerable groups have access to cash and in-person banking services.

Andrew Griffith: The government recognises that while the transition towards digital banking and payments brings opportunities, cash and in-person services continue to be used by many people, including those who may be in vulnerable groups, across the UK. The government has recently legislated through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 to establish a new legislative framework to protect access to cash. The Act establishes the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities. As part of this, the FCA must also seek to ensure that there is reasonable provision of free cash withdrawal and deposit facilities in relation to personal current accounts. Decisions on opening and closing branches are a commercial issue, and the government does not intervene in these. However, the FCA’s guidance expects firms to carefully consider the impact of any planned closure on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs and consider possible alternative access arrangements for those who rely on in-person services. In particular, the FCA expects firms to analyse the needs and characteristics of customers in vulnerable circumstances currently using the sites. This includes known protected characteristics such as age or disability. In the context of the government’s access to cash legislation, the financial services sector is working together to develop and provide shared services. To date, industry has committed to over 100 shared cash access services, including over 60 banking hubs. People can also access cash and everyday banking services via their local Post Office.

Business: Payment Methods

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in the number of businesses not accepting cash payments on rural areas.

Andrew Griffith: As technology and consumer behaviour changes, it should remain the choice of individual organisations as to whether to accept or decline any form of payment, including cash or card, based on their consideration of factors such as customer preference and cost. The government does not collect data on the types of payments that are accepted by businesses. Nonetheless, the government recognises that many people continue to transact in cash across the UK and has legislated through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 to establish a new legislative framework to protect access to cash across the UK. The government considers that this legislation will support organisations, including local businesses, to continue accepting cash by ensuring that they have reasonable access to cash deposit facilities.

Bank Services: Interest Rates

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring savings account providers to pass on interest rate rises in full to savings customers.

Andrew Griffith: The pricing of products, including savings accounts, is a commercial matter for firms in which the Government does not intervene. However, the Chancellor has made clear his expectation that savers benefit from rising interest rates. He has tasked the Financial Conduct Authority to report later this month on how the savings market is supporting savers to benefit from higher interest rate.

Bank Services: Interest Rates

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with which providers he has held recent discussions on uprating of savings rates; and when these discussions took place.

Andrew Griffith: On the 28 of June the Chancellor met with regulators including the Financial Conduct Authority. An agreement was secured to ensure that regulators act urgently in areas where consumers need most support and to ensure they are treated fairly. The Chancellor also regularly meets with senior bank representatives, and discusses a range of issues; as reported in the press he raised savings rates with bank chief executives at his mortgages roundtable on 23 of June.

Mortgages: Interest Rates

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will have discussions with mortgage providers on the potential merits of allowing their customers to adjust their fixed rate mortgages before their term has expired.

Andrew Griffith: On Friday 23 June the Chancellor met with the UK’s largest mortgage lenders, UK Finance and the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss how lenders will provide support for those who encounter problems keeping up with their mortgage payments. At this meeting, lenders agreed to a new Mortgage Charter to support borrowers struggling with their mortgage payments that was published on 26 June. The Charter sets out the standards signatory lenders will adopt when helping their customers, including new flexibilities to help customers manage their mortgage payments over a short period. Amongst these new flexibilities, the Mortgage Charter includes an agreement permitting borrowers coming to the end of their deal to lock in a new rate up to six months in advance of their deal coming to an end, and apply for a better rate if one becomes available.

Banks: Taxation

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce a windfall tax on banks to account for excess profits in the banking sector generated by the interest rate rise on 22 June 2023.

Andrew Griffith: Banks already face an additional rate of tax on their profits in the form of the Bank Corporation Tax Surcharge – meaning they pay 3% more on their profit than most other businesses. This is in addition to a charge on the largest banks’ balance sheets in the form of the Bank Levy.

Mortgages

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of new mortgage prisoners since September 2022; and if he will make an estimate of the number of mortgage prisoners for each of the next three years.

Andrew Griffith: Information on the number of mortgage prisoners was provided by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2021. A link to that report is provided below.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mortgage-prisoner-review

Mortgages: Profits

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that mortgage lenders do not make excessive profits.

Andrew Griffith: The pricing of financial products, including on lending and savings products, is a commercial decision for firms, in which the Government does not intervene. The decisions on Bank Rate by the independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at the Bank of England guide commercial banks’ decisions over the retail interest rates they charge on loans and pay on deposits. Nevertheless, we recognise this will be a concerning time for existing mortgage borrowers, and particularly those who are due to come to the end of their existing deal in the immediate future. Following the commitments agreed to support borrowers in December, the Chancellor met with mortgage lenders, UK Finance and the Financial Conduct Authority on 23 June. At this meeting, lenders agreed to a new Mortgage Charter to support borrowers struggling with their mortgage payments, which was published on 26 June. This sets out the standards signatory lenders will adopt when helping their customers, including new flexibilities to help customers manage their mortgage payments over a short period. This is in addition to the measures the Government has already taken aimed at helping people to avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans, and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol.

Electronic Funds Transfer: Fraud

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June to Question 191011 on Bank Cards Fraud, what estimate he has made of when UK Finance will publish data on payment industry fraud for 2022; and if he ask UK Finance to publish that information broken down by month.

Andrew Griffith: UK Finance published their 2023 Annual Fraud Report, containing data on fraud levels from January to December 2022, on 10th May this year. In addition to their annual data, UK Finance publish a half yearly report on fraud levels from January to June of every year. The 2023 report can be expected in the Autumn this year.

Sanctions

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK’s financial sanctions regime.

John Glen: The Government undertakes extensive assessment of the effectiveness of the sanction regimes, which are eroding Russia’s financial base. The UK has sanctioned 28 Russian banks covering over 80% of Russia’s banking sector, frozen £18bn of Russian assets and implemented unprecedented trade sanctions, including sanctioning over £20 billion of UK-Russia goods trade compared to 2021. We have worked in close coordination with international partners to deliver an unprecedented package of sanctions. Sanctions imposed by the G7+ on Russian oil – including the Oil Price Cap - have constrained Russian revenues from their most lucrative export. Oil export revenues for May are down 36% year on year. Over 60% of Putin’s ‘war chest’ foreign reserves have been immobilised. Russia suffered an annual deficit of $47bn in 2022, the second highest of the post-Soviet era. Additionally in 2023 Russia exceeded its forecast 2% federal budget deficit by April.

Treasury: Staff

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff work in the Devolved Countries Unit as of 1 July 2023; and if he provide the respective pay grades of the staff in that unit.

John Glen: HM Treasury, as with all central government departments, publishes organograms each quarter showing all staff roles and salary scales on gov.uk: https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/a5ffd07c-e31e-47c8-b343-1bcd9b5e3fe1/organogram-of-staff-roles-salaries

Employment: Finance

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2023 to Question 188928 on Employment: Finance, if he will publish further details on what comprises (a) S032A001-Employment Programmes, (b) S032A074-Labour Market-Operational Delivery, (c) S032A085-Labour Market-Corporate and (d) Other spending.

John Glen: The selected segments in the question are from the OSCAR online database. In order to see what these comprise of we can direct you to the OSCAR annual transparency release:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/oscar-annual-release-november-2022 Please note that the cut of data for the transparency release was taken at a later point than the PESA dataset, the figures therefore, may show differences when compared to PESA.

Department for Education

Education: Standards

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how frequently the delivery boards for (a) education investment areas and (b) priority education investment areas are provided with data on pupil outcomes in each area.

Nick Gibb: Education Investment Areas (EIAs) do not have delivery boards. The subset of EIAs that are Priority Education Investment Areas do have local partnership boards, but these are advisory only. These boards were provided with data on pupil outcomes for their areas at the outset of the programme to help them advise the Department on the key issues to be addressed in each area and to identify local targets for pupil outcomes. They will continue to be provided with data on a regular basis, to help them advise the Department on the implementation and impact of the programme.

Schools: Buildings

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the National Audit Office report entitled Condition of school buildings published on 28 June 2023, whether her Department plans to provide funding to schools to restore buildings beyond their estimated initial design life.

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to assess the safety of school buildings.

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to complete its assessments of the condition of school buildings constructed with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Nick Gibb: The safety of pupils and staff is vital. This is why the Department has been significantly investing in transforming schools across the country. Where there are serious safety issues with a building, the Department takes immediate and swift action to ensure the safety of pupils and school staff.It is the responsibility of those who run schools – academy trusts, local authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies – who work with their schools to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools. They should alert the Department if there is a concern with a building.The Department provides these responsible bodies with significant funding targeted toward where it is most needed to help them carry out these responsibilities, alongside a package of other guidance and support that the National Audit Office (NAO) found was comprehensive and well regarded by the sector.The Department allocates significant funding to those responsible for the school estate to improve their buildings. This is over £15 billion since 2015, including 1.8 billion committed for the 2023/24 financial year.The School Rebuilding Programme is transforming buildings at 500 schools over the course of the next decade, prioritising schools in poor condition. The Department has announced 400 schools to date, including 239 in December 2022.As set out by the NAO, buildings can normally be used beyond their estimated initial design life through regular maintenance and upgrades.CDC1 and CDC2 are high level Condition Data Collection (CDC) programmes, the largest such surveys of UK public sector buildings. They allow the Department to understand the condition of the school estate over time and inform capital funding and programmes.Individual reports are shared with every school and their responsible bodies, to help inform their investment plans alongside their own more detailed condition surveys and safety checks.The Department is working with responsible bodies, schools, and colleges to support them through the process of investigation, assessment, and management of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC).The Department has been communicating with schools about the potential risks of RAAC since 2018, when the Department first published a warning note with the Local Government Association.Since then, the Department has published guidance in identifying and managing RAAC. In March 2022, the Department asked all schools to share their knowledge of RAAC, its presence in their buildings, and how they are managing it. The Department is following up rigorously to ensure as complete a response as possible.The Department continues to urge all responsible bodies to get in touch with it immediately if they have any concerns about their school building. The Department relies on this information to enable it to take swift action.The questionnaire is still open for responses from responsible bodies and schools, and the Department also encourages settings to update their responses if their situation changes.The Department’s professional surveyors have already carried out over 200 assessments where RAAC is suspected to verify its presence and assess its condition. The Department is on track to complete 600 assessments by autumn, ahead of the initial forecast of December 2023.In cases where RAAC is confirmed, the Department provides rapid support to schools on the advice of structural engineers. This could include funding capital works to remove any immediate risk and, where absolutely necessary, the provision of temporary buildings.Longer term remediation of RAAC is supported by capital funding provided to the sector, the Department’s rebuilding programme and urgent capital support.

Apprentices: Childcare

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of apprentices (a) studying for roles in health and social care and (b) other roles who are working parents and will not be able to access the expanded 30 hours free childcare offer in 2024-25.

Claire Coutinho: The department does not hold the data on how many apprentices will be unable to access the expanded free hours offer in 2024/25.In the Spring Budget 2023, the government announced a number of transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children and the economy. By 2027/28, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.The announcement included the expansion of the 30 hours free childcare offer, through which eligible working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks per year from when their child is 9 months old to when they start school. The key objective of this measure is to support parental participation in the labour market, which is why the offer is conditional on work.To be eligible, as with the existing 30 hours offer, parents will need to earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the national minimum/living wage, and under £100,000 per year. This means that parents can be eligible if they earn from just over £167 per week or £8,670 per year from April 2023. This offer aims to support working families with the cost of childcare and to support parents back into work or to work more hours should they wish to.All parents including apprentices who earn equivalent of at least 16 hours a week at national minimum/living wage, and under £100,000 adjusted net income per year, will be eligible for this offer. If they are unable to meet this threshold, they will remain eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education, which is available to all 3 and 4 year olds regardless of family circumstances.Further information on the childcare offers available to parents can be found at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.

Pupils: Absenteeism

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department holds data on the reason behind pupil absence numbers in the academic year (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23.

Nick Gibb: The Department releases information from the School Census which relates to absence rates by reason for the 2021/22 academic year. This is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england/2021-22.School Census data covering the 2022/23 academic year is expected to be published in March 2024. The Department has released absence rates for the autumn term of 2022/23, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england.The Department also publishes experimental statistics on attendance data for the 2022/23 academic year to date. This is derived from regular attendance data automatically submitted to the Department by participating schools. These statistics are regularly updated. Due to the timeliness of the data and that they are based on a subset of schools, the figures are estimates that are expected to change as registers are adjusted. The data should be viewed as an early indicator for the more detailed but less regular National Statistics on pupil absence. The data is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-attendance-in-schools.The data includes reason for absence. Absence rates by reason, since the week commencing 12 September 2022 to 16 June 2023 are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/28d62a70-df15-4171-8b3c-08db7860a436.

Planning: Apprentices

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of offering apprenticeships which provide Level 5 and Level 6 planning qualifications.

Robert Halfon: An apprenticeship is a job with training which offers a high-quality alternative to academic and classroom-based qualifications. Employers are at the heart of our apprenticeship system, and employers in the construction and built environment sector have designed a range of high-quality apprenticeship standards to meet their skills needs.There are currently 99 apprenticeship standards approved for delivery in the construction and built environment sector, including level 4 town planning assistant, level 6 project controls professional, and level 7 chartered town planner. These standards have been developed in collaboration with employers to ensure that apprentices are occupationally competent once they achieve their end point assessment.Where there is a genuine occupational gap not met by an existing apprenticeship standard, employers are able to work with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education to develop a high-quality apprenticeship which meets their needs.

Apprentices: Taxation

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2023 to Question 190584 on Apprentices: Taxation, how many students were studying at Level (a) 3 and (b) 4 and above in each of the last five years.

Robert Halfon: The data showing apprenticeship participation for the last five academic years is shown in the table below. 2017/182018/192019/202020/212021/22Advanced apprenticeship (level 3)372,430356,150338,680326,380330,410Higher apprenticeship (level 4 and above)84,240123,950165,510207,860238,820Notes:(1) 2017/18 to 2021/22 figures cover full academic years volumes.(2) Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10.(3) Participation is the count of learners that participated at any point during the year. Learners undertaking more than one course will appear only once in the grand total.(4) Participation at intermediate, advanced, and higher levels is a count of learners that participated at those levels at any point during the year. Learners undertaking more than one course will only appear once at each level but can appear in the count at more than one level. Further apprenticeship statistics can be found in the ‘Apprenticeships and traineeships statistics’ publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships.

Climate Change: Education

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to deliver on the commitment of the former Secretary of State for Education at COP26 on the integration of sustainability and climate change in formal education systems.

Nick Gibb: The Department published the Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy for the education and children’s service systems in April 2022. The link can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sustainability-and-climate-change-strategy/sustainability-and-climate-change-a-strategy-for-the-education-and-childrens-services-systems.It sets out action to 2030 on: climate education, green skills and careers, the education estate and digital infrastructure, operations and supply chains, and international. This action will be evaluated and built on as new opportunities and evidence arise. The strategy covers each of the Department’s sectors: early years, schools, further education, higher education, and children social care. It sets out new initiatives, including extra support for teaching about nature and climate change, the introduction of a natural history GCSE and sustainability leadership and climate action plans in education.Links for the two latter initiatives can be found at: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/national-impact/national-education-nature-park-and-climate-action-awards-scheme.html and: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sustainability-leadership-and-climate-action-plans-in-education.​

School Rebuilding Programme

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the number of school rebuilding programme projects that have experienced construction delays of more than one month in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The Department is transforming buildings at 500 schools over the next decade as part of its School Rebuilding Programme. The construction programmes of building projects in all Department programmes is monitored by the Department through programme management and project delivery teams.In the four school rebuilding projects which have been completed, three were delayed more than a month against initial forecasts. These initial programme forecasts were made ahead of the impact of significant events that could not have been reasonably predicted and that affected the global market.The Department has continuously improved its approach to building schools since the Sebastian James’ review. This identified that the Building Schools for the Future programme, introduced under the last Government in 2004, was overly bureaucratic and not designed to target poor condition, did not support high and consistent quality, did not use standardised specifications that work for education, and did not deliver value for money and economies of scale from central procurement and delivery, which are all things that are now prioritised when building schools.Under the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP) this Government launched in 2014, whole schools were built one third cheaper per square metre on average than schools built under the Building Schools for the Future Programme. The Department has further built on this success in its School Rebuilding Programme, which is exceeding delivery timescales compared to PSBP, while delivering schools that will be net zero in operation. The Infrastructure and Project Authority has highlighted that our progress is very good.

Department for Transport

Bus Services: Fares

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what impact the £2 bus ticket cap has had on bus usage.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing the bus cap to match London bus ticket prices.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department for Transport’s interim report evaluating the first month of the £2 bus fare cap found that 10% of survey respondents stated that they were making more bus journeys since the scheme started, and around a third felt that the fare cap had had a positive impact on their cost of living. The report has been published on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ons/evaluation-of-the-2-bus-fare-cap . A survey conducted by Transport Focus of over 1,000 people also reported that 11% of respondents stated that they were using the bus more as a result of the cap.Nationally reducing the fare cap still further would come at a high cost to the taxpayer. It should be noted that TfL have recently increased fares.

Railway Stations: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2023 to Question 191230 on Railway Stations: Disability, when he expects the Great British Railways Transition Team to publish data on the accessibility of station facilities.

Huw Merriman: The Great British Railways Transition Team is working with Network Rail and the Department to consider how to make Accessibility Audit data available to the public. This work is underway, and we will announce further details in due course.

Railways: Staff

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that train operators have enough staff to cover rotas without relying on voluntary overtime.

Huw Merriman: Disruption to rail services has been further exacerbated by cancellations due to industrial action and action short of strike. Several outdated working practices remain in the industry and the Government recognises that the day-to-day running of the railway needs to change to modernise working practices, deliver a rail network that moves to a more secure financial footing, whilst meeting the needs and expectations of today’s passengers. Some train operating companies already have Sundays and Bank Holidays in the working week or committed Sundays (where drivers are paid overtime but must work them) as part of their plan to deliver a 7-day railway.

Railways: Tickets

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that blind and partially-sighted people continue to have access to ticket offices at railway stations.

Huw Merriman: When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of disabled passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider all equality related needs and make this clear in their consultation. Together with the industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future. Station staff will still provide face-to-face services on the railways, which assists those who need additional support, and cannot or do not want to use contactless or mobile tickets. All staff in customer facing roles or with managed responsibilities undertake enhanced disability awareness training and TOCs are already required to provide this. These reforms will not affect these arrangements. The Department recently hosted roundtable discussions with industry and accessibility and transport groups to discuss this matter and ensure their views are understood. We continue to engage with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee through the process.

Railways: Recruitment

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department are taking to help recruit train operators from outside of the industry.

Huw Merriman: As outlined in the George Bradshaw address, we are committed to enhancing the role of the private sector as we build a more customer-focused and joined-up railway. New Passenger Service Contracts will balance the right performance incentives with simple, commercially driven targets, but these contracts won’t follow a one-size fits all approach. We will seek to maximise the benefits of competition by attracting current and new market entrants to bid to deliver high-quality services for passengers. We will consult with the market to develop and design the new contracts in due course.

Northern Trains: Concessions

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 9 March 2022 to Question 134387 on Southeastern Trains: Directors, how many (a) managers and (b) members of the board of Northern Trains Ltd are entitled to (i) free rail travel and (ii) access rail staff travel facilities.

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 9 March 2022 to Question 134387 on Southeastern Trains: Directors, how many (a) managers and (b) members of the board of LNER are entitled to (i) free rail travel and (ii) access rail staff travel facilities.

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 9 March 2022 to Question 134387 on Southeastern Trains: Directors, how many (a) managers and (b) members of the board of Transpennine Express are entitled to (i) free rail travel and (ii) access rail staff travel facilities.

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 9 March 2022 to Question 134387 on Southeastern Trains: Directors, how many (a) managers and (b) members of the board of OLR DfT Holding Ltd are entitled to (i) free rail travel and (ii) access rail staff travel facilities.

Huw Merriman: The renumeration packages between the organisation and Board members or Directors are a matter for the individual companies. They are all independent third parties.

Mid-Cheshire Line

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the (a) adequacy of the condition of the Mid Cheshire Railway line and (b) potential merits of increasing the speed of trains on the line.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has plans to increase funding for the Mid Cheshire Railway Line at the Weaver Viaduct in Northwich.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the line speed over 20 miles per hour on the Mid-Cheshire Railway Line at the Weaver Viaduct in Northwich.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the condition of the (a) ground and (b) track of the Mid-Cheshire Railway line at the Weaver Viaduct in Northwich.

Huw Merriman: The Department has provided £44.1billion to Network Rail over the next Control Period (2024-29) for the operations and maintenance renewals budget. They will use this funding to monitor asset conditions and renewal opportunities including Weaver Viaduct. It is for Network Rail rather than the Department to make an assessment. The Department is supporting local partners on options to enhance the route including line speeds; these proposals are not funded as they are in early development and are subject to normal business case approvals.

HGV Parking and Driver Welfare Grant Scheme

James Wild: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the criteria of the HGV Parking and Driver Welfare Grant Scheme to include new lorry parks.

Mr Richard Holden: Good quality roadside facilities remain a priority for the Government. The first application window for the HGV Parking and Driver Welfare Grant Scheme closed on 24 February 2023 and the Department for Transport is now evaluating applications in accordance with scheme criteria.Improving facilities on existing sites was seen as the best way to utilise funds and raise the quality of facilities for HGV drivers in the short term.An assessment of the process and criteria for the first round of applications will inform criteria for future application windows and any decision to extend the scheme to include funding the development of new lorry parks.

A66: Repairs and Maintenance

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2023 to Question 191486 on A66: Repairs and Maintenance, what updates he has received from officials in his Department on the progress of this scheme against National Highways' delivery plan for (a) timeline and (b) budget.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2023 to Question 191485, what data his Department holds on early warning notices relating to the A66 Northern Trans-Pennine scheme.

Mr Richard Holden: National Highways officials and DfT officials keep Ministers updated on delivery of the roads portfolio.Key project milestones are detailed in National Highways Delivery Plan, available here: https://nationalhighways.co.uk/media/nu1jnm4l/delivery-plan-2022-23-july-8.pdfThe Department does not hold any such data in relation to early warning notices.

Speed Limits: Greater London

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the impact of 20mph zones in London on the economy.

Mr Richard Holden: Transport in London is devolved. The responsibility for managing London's road network is shared between Transport for London (TfL) and the London boroughs. The Department’s comprehensive three-year evaluation of the effect of 20mph signed-only limits was published on 22 November 2018 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/20-mph-speed-limits-on-roads

Members: Correspondence

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to respond to correspondence from the hon. Member for Sefton Central of (a) 13 February and (b) 16 May 2023 on partially sighted people and facilities at bus stops.

Mr Richard Holden: I replied to the correspondence that you refer to on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport. These responses were sent in February and May this year.

Road Traffic Offences

Mark Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice of 16 May 2023, Official Report, col 695, when his Department plans to publish a call for evidence on motoring offences.

Mr Richard Holden: The Government will confirm any next steps in due course.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a facilities taskforce for HGV drivers.

Mr Richard Holden: The quality and availability of lorry parking and driver welfare facilities remain a priority for DfT and the wider Government. The Department continues to engage with stakeholders including the freight industry associations, National Highways and local authorities to encourage the development of safer, more secure, high-quality lorry parking. Existing groups including the Freight Council and regular working level industry engagement provide opportunities for industry input and discussion.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Offshore Wind Industry Council’s Offshore Wind Skills Intelligence Report 2023 on levels of employment in the UK maritime sector.

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the employment estimates in the Offshore Wind Industry Council’s Offshore Wind Skills Intelligence Report 2023 with the aims of the Maritime 2050 Strategy.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department for Transport has not made a formal assessment on the compatibility of the Offshore Wind Skills Intelligence Report 2023 with the aims of the Maritime 2050 Strategy. The Department does not plan an assessment of the report on levels of employment in the UK maritime sector, noting the report itself is already highly detailed and provides an employment estimate broken down by role.Enhancing the UK’s maritime skills and training offer is at the heart of the Government’s commitment to level up the economy. This objective is supported by the recommendations of the Maritime 2050 People Route Map. To support delivery, the Department commissioned the Maritime Skills Commission to undertake Cadet and Ratings Reviews with the objective of exploring where barriers and opportunities exist to enhance and grow the offer for UK seafarers.

Cars: Noise

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to tackle the use of car exhaust outputs which go over the legal noise limit of 74 decibels.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take steps to regulate and enforce car exhaust noise levels through the MOT check procedure.

Mr Richard Holden: The Government is keen to support police and local authorities in using their existing powers to tackle excessively noisy and illegally modified vehicles. The Department has also recently conducted trials of the latest noise camera technology, the results of which will be published shortly. The annual vehicle MOT test requires an inspection of the state of repair of the exhaust and the tester uses their experience to make a subjective assessment of the noise levels. A vehicle should fail the MOT if the silencer has been altered to increase noise above the level expected from a standard system.

Cars: Insurance

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2023 to Question 191207, if he will publish further details of his Department's engagement with the insurance industry on car insurance premiums and their impact on policy holders between 1 January and 5 July 2023.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department has not held specific discussions with the insurance industry to discuss insurance premiums and their impact on policyholders. The setting of premiums is a commercial decision for individual insurers and the Government does not intervene or seek to control the market.

Speed Limits

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the extent to which local authorities adhere to his Department's guidance on setting local speed limits.

Mr Richard Holden: No assessment has been made of the extent to which local authorities adhere to the Department for Transport’s guidance on setting local speed limits. The Department for Transport’s guidance Setting Local Speed Limits is non-mandatory guidance designed to make sure that speed limits are appropriately and consistently set while allowing for flexibility to deal with local circumstances, but the final decision is for the authority, working with the police who would carry out any enforcement.

Traffic Commissioners: Annual Reports

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's planned timescales are for when the 2022-23 Traffic Commissioners' annual reports will be published.

Mr Richard Holden: I would like to recognise the important contribution made by the Traffic Commissioners to keeping Great Britain’s roads safe by licensing and regulating the commercial vehicle industries. The annual report will reflect upon achievements throughout the last financial year, progress made against their strategic objectives, and also look toward future challenges within the organisation and industry. We will look to publish the full report later this month.

Railways: Tickets

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of stations do not have contactless ticketing capability in (a) each region and (b) the UK.

Huw Merriman: There are approximately 390 stations across Great Britain which are enabled to use contactless PAYG currently. A further 53 stations in the South East will have contactless PAYG by the end of the year. This means 17 per cent of stations will be contactless ticketing enabled by the end of the year, of which 76 per cent are in London, 12 per cent in the South East and 12 per cent in the East of England.The government is committed to rolling out PAYG in other areas of the country. For example, through the Trailblazer Devolution Deals announced in March 2023, we have committed to working with Transport for Greater Manchester and West Midlands to progress PAYG ticketing and infrastructure pilots by the end of 2023.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Gambling Commission

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the Gambling Commission has sufficient resources to implement the proposals in the Gambling White Paper.

Stuart Andrew: His Majesty’s Government recognises that, while millions of people gamble online without experiencing problems, for some it becomes an addiction with serious consequences. The Gambling White Paper outlines a range of proportionate measures to tackle practices and products which can drive harm.The Government is working closely with the Gambling Commission to ensure it has the necessary resources to regulate the industry effectively, as set out in our review of the Gambling Act. Further detailed consultations on a number of the measures set out in the Review will ensure we have a clear understanding of any new requirements that will be placed on the Commission and we will work with it to understand what changes may be needed.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Surveillance

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 24 November 2022 on Security Update on Surveillance Equipment, WMS 386, whether they have (a) ceased deployment of visual surveillance systems produced by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China onto sensitive sites, (b) ensured no such equipment is connected to their departmental core network, (c) considered whether there are sites outside the definition of sensitive sites to which they would wish to extend risk mitigation and (d) put in place any additional controls or taken any further steps.

Sir John Whittingdale: At Report Stage of the Procurement Bill, the Government committed that, within six months of Royal Assent, the Government will set out the timeline for the removal of surveillance equipment supplied by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of China from sensitive sites. This Department will be providing information to the Cabinet Office to support this commitment. It is a longstanding Government policy that specific security arrangements regarding Government estates are withheld on security grounds.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Broadband: Social Tariffs

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will hold discussions with Ofcom on mobile phone providers raising awareness of the availability of discounted social broadband tariffs for customers.

Sir John Whittingdale: Ofcom has a statutory duty to monitor ongoing household affordability in the sector and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology meets regularly with them to discuss this work and progress.In April 2023, Ofcom’s Affordability Report showed 47% of eligible households were aware that telecoms operators provide low-cost offers to low income households. This represents progress since February 2022 - which showed just 16% awareness - but we recognise more is needed to ensure eligible households are aware of the support available.The Department will continue to work with Ofcom to encourage the industry to do more to publicise the availability of social tariffs to their customers.

Ofcom: Managers

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether business appointment and governance rules apply to senior managers within Ofcom who are seeking to take up senior positions within companies regulated by that regulator.

Sir John Whittingdale: Ofcom employees are not Crown servants and so the business appointment rules for Crown servants do not apply to them.Ofcom has a robust and comprehensive conflict of interest policy, managed and regularly reviewed by its Executive Board, that upholds high regulatory standards of independence, impartiality and integrity. The policy and procedures in place enable Ofcom’s Executive to take swift and appropriate action should a situation emerge where an employee leaves to join a company that it regulates.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Livestock: Vaccination

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2023 to Question 191637 on Livestock: Vaccination, what the Veterinary Medicines Directorate's expected timescale is for when the manufacturing issues impacting the supplies of (a) Heptavac P Plus and (b) Bravoxin 10 vaccines will be resolved.

Mark Spencer: The production of veterinary medicines is complex and highly regulated. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) liaises closely with pharmaceutical companies and distributors of medicines to detect potential problems to support the continued availability of veterinary medicines where possible, We understand that there is large global demand for Heptavac P Plus and Bravoxin 10 vaccines at present, compounded by manufacturing issues resulting in intermittent supply. The VMD has been working with the company concerned to support the release of further batches of vaccine to the UK market. We encourage farmers to discuss their vaccine regime with their veterinary surgeon should they have any concern. Veterinary surgeons may also speak with the Marketing Authorisation Holder MSD Animal Health for latest advice on product availability.

Bracken: Weed Control

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraph 6 of Annex 1 of the Full Minutes of the meeting of the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides on 18 April 2023, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the conclusion that the Committee does not support an emergency authorisation under Article 53 of Regulation 1107/2009 for the aerial or land-based application of Asulox to control bracken due to risks that cannot be mitigated; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Spencer: Bracken can overwhelm sensitive habitats and threaten grazing land and the establishment of new tree plantings. This is why, after very careful consideration, an emergency authorisation has been granted for the limited and strictly controlled use of Asulox to control bracken in England in 2023. The application for emergency authorisation was considered according to the legal tests and it was concluded that authorisation was necessary because of a danger that could not be controlled by other reasonable means, there were special circumstances, and the use of the product would be limited and controlled, with strict conditions in place to minimise the impacts to the environment and wildlife.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Surveillance

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 24 November 2022 on Security Update on Surveillance Equipment, WMS 386, whether they have (a) ceased deployment of visual surveillance systems produced by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China onto sensitive sites, (b) ensured no such equipment is connected to their departmental core network, (c) considered whether there are sites outside the definition of sensitive sites to which they would wish to extend risk mitigation and (d) put in place any additional controls or taken any further steps.

Mark Spencer: On 24 November 2022, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster published a Written Ministerial Statement noting that departments had been instructed to take a series of actions relating to surveillance equipment subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China. Defra has been implementing this policy along with other protective security controls. At Report Stage of the Procurement Bill, the Government committed that, within six months of Royal Assent, the Government will set out the timeline for the removal of surveillance equipment supplied by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of China from sensitive sites. This department will be providing information to the Cabinet Office to support this commitment. It is a longstanding Government policy that specific security arrangements regarding Government estates are withheld on security grounds.

Pesticides

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to publish the National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides.

Mark Spencer: We will publish the updated National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides this year.

Pesticides

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to set a target for a reduction in the use of chemical pesticides.

Mark Spencer: We have been assessing the potential role of targets to support our policy ambitions to reduce reliance on the use of conventional chemical pesticides We are clear that any targets that we set must be meaningful and designed to deliver our desired outcomes, which are to minimise the risks of pesticides to the environment and encourage sustainable pest management.

Sanitation: Waste Disposal

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the provision in (a) public spaces and (b) male public toilets for men who experience incontinence as a result of radical prostatectomies to dispose of their incontinence products hygienically.

Rebecca Pow: The Government encourages local authorities to consider such provision in public toilets to support those with this need but does not have powers to compel the provision of sanitary bins in public toilets. I would encourage the hon. Member to raise the issue locally.

Import Controls

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the potential impact of the Border Target Operating Model on (a) inflation, (b) food prices and (c) the price of (i) meat and (ii) fresh produce.

Mark Spencer: The estimated annual cost to UK businesses, and any associated impact on consumer prices, is being assessed and will be communicated at the time of the publication of the final Target Operating Model.

Chemicals: Regulation

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of pursuing an agreement with the EU on data access to reduce the costs of UK Regulation, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals for industrial enterprises.

Rebecca Pow: The Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU includes a Chemicals Annex to facilitate trade in chemicals. During negotiations the EU did not wish to progress discussions on data sharing. They view access to this data as only for members of the Single Market, and therefore any data sharing arrangement would require the EU to change their very clear position on the matter.

Chemicals: Regulation

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing fees for UK Regulation, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals.

Rebecca Pow: The current UK REACH fee structure was carried across from EU REACH using Withdrawal Act powers and given legal effect in secondary legislation. Work is underway to review our approach to this fee structure

Disposable Wipes: Plastics

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has considered the potential merits of a ban on wet wipes containing plastic using section 140 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Rebecca Pow: In the Plan for Water published in April, the government announced our intention to ban wet wipes containing plastic, subject to public consultation, the details of which will be available in due course.

Packaging: Recycling

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to announce the charges to be levied under the extended producer responsibility scheme for packaging; and if she will make a statement.

Rebecca Pow: Work is ongoing to deliver our Extended Producer Responsibility scheme and we are continuing to engage closely with manufacturers, retailers, and packaging companies on the design of the scheme. We will continue to work with industry as we finalise plans to ensure that the scheme will deliver our environmental goals.

Packaging: Recycling

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the information provided to businesses on preparing for the extended producer responsibility scheme for packaging.

Rebecca Pow: To help businesses prepare, guidance and an obligation checker have been published on gov.uk. We are also running regular Business and Local Authority Readiness Forums to relay key information and answer key questions. We are committed to continuing to work with businesses closely to ensure the quality of the guidance and information we provide. We will continue to review and update this information taking into account feedback provided to us.

Packaging: Recycling

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of delaying the implementation of (a) reporting requirements and (b) charges under the extended producer responsibility scheme for packaging.

Rebecca Pow: Work is ongoing to deliver our Extended Producer Responsibility scheme and we’re continuing to engage closely with manufacturers, retailers, and packaging companies on the design of the scheme. We will continue to work with industry as we finalise plans to ensure that the scheme will deliver our environmental goals.

Fly-tipping: Hertfordshire

Bim Afolami: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to improve the management of fly tipping in Hertfordshire.

Rebecca Pow: The role of central Government in tackling fly-tipping is to support local action. Across two rounds of our fly-tipping grant scheme, we have now awarded nearly £1.2m to help more than 30 councils purchase equipment to tackle fly-tipping at known hot-spots; recipients include Stevenage Borough Council who received just over £26,000 to install mobile CCTV and signage to deter perpetrators. The Prime Minister’s Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan sets out how we will support councils to take tougher action against those who fly-tip. This includes a commitment to significantly raise the upper limit on fixed penalty notices this year, to £1,000 for fly-tipping and £600 for people who give their waste to an unauthorised carrier. Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, through which we work with a wide range of interested parties, including the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership, to promote and disseminate good practice with regards to preventing fly-tipping.

Water Treatment

Mohammad Yasin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of working with (a) OFWAT and (b) water companies on (i) desalination and (ii) other sustainable water supply solutions.

Rebecca Pow: Defra recently published its Plan for Water setting out the importance of ensuring a clean and plentiful water supply. The National Framework for water resources sets out in detail how the Government, regulators and regional groups, including water companies, will work together to improve water resources management. This includes reducing demand, halving leakage, developing new water supplies and moving water to where it is needed. Earlier this year, regional water resources groups and water companies consulted on their draft water resources plans. These statutory plans set out how each company will secure water supplies sustainably for at least the next 25 years. Within their plans, water companies consider all options, including demand management and water resources infrastructure, such as desalination. The draft water resources management plans contain proposals for multiple new schemes by 2050, including 9 new desalination schemes, 9 new reservoirs, 11 new water recycling schemes, and several new internal and inter-company transfers to share resources.

Reservoirs

James Wild: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the length of water abstraction licences to incentivise investment in winter reservoir storage.

Rebecca Pow: The Environment Agency is legally required to include a time limit on all new abstraction licences and permanent licence variations. When the Environment Agency grants a licence for the first time, the licence duration is usually between 6 and 18 years. On renewal, the normal duration will be 12 years. In exceptional cases licences may be issued with a longer time limit if the applicant meets four government tests. Further information can be found in the guidance note WR253 Long duration water abstraction licences on gov.uk. The Environment Agency would consider a long duration licence for a winter storage reservoir providing the applicant can meet the four tests. We are working to move the water resources licensing regime into the Environmental Permitting Regulations. We consulted on the move in Autumn 2021 and are considering the responses. The consultation included proposals to remove the requirement on the Environment Agency to issue abstraction permits with a time limit.

Disposable Wipes: Plastics

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's expected timescale is for (a) opening and (b) closing its consultation into banning plastic in wet wipes; and who will be invited to submit views.

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the questions her Department plans to ask in its consultation on banning plastic in wet wipes.

Rebecca Pow: In the Plan for Water published in April, the Government announced our intention to ban wet wipes containing plastic, subject to public consultation, the details of which will be available in due course.

Ministry of Justice

Duty Solicitors: Greater London

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the number of duty solicitors in (a) Feltham and Heston constituency, (b) West London and (c) Greater London.

Mike Freer: The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning duty solicitor services and the day-to-day administration of the court and police station duty schemes. This includes keeping membership records, allocating slots and producing and maintaining duty solicitor rotas. The LAA monitors membership across individual duty schemes. Information about duty solicitor volumes broken down by individual scheme is published as part of the LAA’s quarterly statistics. Legal Aid services are not procured at constituency level, however, the duty schemes falling with the Feltham and Heston constituency include Brentford, Ealing and Uxbridge, Heathrow, Richmond-Upon Thames and West London. At a national level, the LAA monitors capacity across criminal legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis and, where demand is greater than the available supply, takes action to secure additional provision to ensure the continuity of legal aid-funded services. The LAA is satisfied that there continues to be sufficient duty solicitor coverage on the duty schemes operating in Feltham and Heston, West London and Greater London. Provision under the duty schemes is demand led and so there may be variations in numbers across each local rota or other fluctuations in numbers depending on prevailing market conditions, and other internal factors such as firms merging or other consolidation activity.

Ministry of Justice: Surveillance

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 24 November 2022 on Security Update on Surveillance Equipment, WMS 386, whether they have (a) ceased deployment of visual surveillance systems produced by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China onto sensitive sites, (b) ensured no such equipment is connected to their departmental core network, (c) considered whether there are sites outside the definition of sensitive sites to which they would wish to extend risk mitigation and (d) put in place any additional controls or taken any further steps.

Mike Freer: On 24 November 2022, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster published a Written Ministerial Statement noting that departments had been instructed to take a series of actions relating to surveillance equipment subject to the National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China. This Government Department has been implementing this policy along with other protective security controls. At Report Stage of the Procurement Bill, the Government committed that, within six months of Royal Assent, the Government will set out the timeline for the removal of surveillance equipment supplied by companies subject to the National Intelligence Law of China from sensitive sites. This department will be providing information to the Cabinet Office to support this commitment. It is a longstanding Government policy that specific security arrangements regarding Government estates are withheld on security grounds.

Courts: Flags

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department has issued on flying flags other than the Union flag on court buildings.

Mike Freer: The Department of Culture, Media and Sport is responsible for issuing guidance on the flying of flags on Government buildings, including the Union flag and other flags. Any guidance shared with the courts on flag flying by HMCTS has been issued by DCMS. HMCTS has not shared any guidance on flying flags other than the Union flag in 2023.

Illegal Migration Bill

Stuart C McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with the (i) Scottish Government and (ii) the Scottish Legal Aid Board on potential implications for legal aid of the Illegal Migration Bill.

Mike Freer: The Government has engaged with the Scottish Government regarding legal aid in connection with the Illegal Migration Bill. Officials in the Ministry of Justice have confirmed with Scottish Government officials that no legislative changes are required in Scotland to ensure equivalent provision of legal aid for individuals in receipt of a removal notice, in relation to that removal notice, will be available as will be in England and Wales. We will continue to engage with our Scottish counterparts as necessary.

Probation: Wales

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many probation staff vacancies there are in each Probation Delivery Unit in Wales.

Damian Hinds: Staff vacancies as of May 2023 can be found on the attached table, broken down by grade and PDU. Nationally, we are now investing an extra £155 million a year into the Probation Service compared to 2019 and recruiting record numbers of staff to deliver tougher supervision and keep the public safe. This includes the recruitment of an extra 4,039 trainee probation officers between 2020/21 and 2022/23. When comparing staff in post to Target Staffing across all grades there are currently no vacancies in Wales. However, this is because the region currently has a large number of Trainee Probation Officers (199.5 FTE) who only spend part of their time carrying out casework at a Band 3 Probation Services Officer level. As a result, there are vacancies when looking at an individual grade level. These trainees have been recruited to fill Probation Officer vacancies but do not contribute towards Probation Officer casework until the point at which they qualify and carry out work at a Band 3 Probation Services Officer level.The table presented only shows grades which currently have vacancies and does not take into account Trainee Probation Officer contribution towards ‘Band 3 - Probation Services Officer’ targets. Staff Vacancies (xlsx, 18.3KB)

Prison Officers: Wales

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officer vacancies there are in each pay band in each establishment in Wales.

Damian Hinds: The MoJ holds required staffing levels which are subject to regular amendment and managed at a local and regional level. The MoJ does not present vacancy data for prisons due to variability in required staffing levels.

Victim Support Schemes: Children

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a duty on (a) Police and Crime Commissioners and (b) other relevant authorities to commission specific support for child victims of domestic and sexual abuse.

Edward Argar: The Government recognises that funding for victim support provision is crucial for victims to build resilience and move forward with daily life. This is very important for victims of domestic abuse and sexual abuse as these are particularly traumatic crimes with a high number of victims each year.To better support victims and meet demand we are more than quadrupling funding for victim services by 2024/25, up from £41 million in 2009/10. This includes an additional £6.6 million on a multi-year basis throughout this Spending Review, for services supporting victims of sexual violence and domestic abuse, including children.The Victims and Prisoners Bill is a key opportunity to strengthen, through legislation, funding structures to make the best use of resources. Support for victims of domestic abuse and sexual abuse are commissioned by a range of bodies in a variety of settings. To improve existing service provision the duty to collaborate requires Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), and local authorities to collaborate on services for domestic abuse, sexual abuse, and other serious violent crime. It will drive forward more effective and targeted strategic multi-agency collaboration.

Victim Support Schemes: Children

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve commissioned support services for child victims of crime.

Edward Argar: The Victims Funding Strategy sets out a framework to improve the alignment and coordination of the Government’s commissioning of victim support services to enable all victims to receive the support they need. The strategy introduced national commissioning standards, which will encourage an expected level of service for victims. It also introduced core metrics and outcomes to be collected on all government funding, to ensure we are building a comprehensive evidence base that will allow us to generate a much clearer picture of the needs and experiences of victims using support. The strategy will be overseen by a cross-government board, which will bring together government departments and key stakeholders in this space to monitor implementation. As part of the strategy, we also committed to reviewing and refreshing existing UK government commissioning guidance for commissioners of local support services. Part of this will include looking specifically at the commissioning of services for children and young people as victims of crime. The Victims and Prisoners Bill aims to improve the support offered to children and young people. Child victims are covered by the definition of a victim in the Bill, as they are in the current Victims Code. To drive forward better strategic multiagency collaboration on commissioning for victim support services, the Bill will place a duty on Police and Crime Commissioners, local authorities, and Intergrated Care Boards to collaborate on support services for child and adult victims of sexual abuse, domestic abuse, and other serious violent crime.

Domestic Abuse: Lie Detectors

Alex Davies-Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of polygraph testing in high-risk domestic abuse cases.

Alex Davies-Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of sharing the results of polygraph testing in high-risk domestic abuse cases with (a) multi-agency partners and (b) specialist services to inform risk assessment and safety planning.

Edward Argar: Prior to polygraph testing being rolled out across the Probation Service in 2014, an evaluation of its effectiveness with high-risk sex offenders on licence was undertaken and a report published in 2012. The report is publicly available here: The evaluation of the mandatory polygraph pilot (publishing.service.gov.uk). In July 2021 the Ministry of Justice commenced a three-year pilot of polygraph examinations with high-risk domestic abuse perpetrators on licence. The aim of the pilot is to evaluate the efficacy of polygraph in managing high-risk domestic abuse perpetrators using a randomised control trial which is being independently evaluated by the Cambridge Centre for Evidence Based Policing. The pilot also includes a process evaluation and, as part of that, we will seek the views of external stakeholders, including victim and survivor groups, about the use of polygraph testing with this group. At the end of the pilot, the evaluation report will be laid before both Houses and will be used to make a decision whether to roll it out across probation nationally. Once the evaluation has been completed it will be published on gov.uk. Due to it currently being piloted, the polygraph policy framework does not currently cover testing of domestic abuse perpetrators. However, the policy sets out the general requirements for how probation practitioners must liaise with partner agencies when a sex offender or terrorist offender is subject to polygraph testing. They are required to inform relevant partner agencies that someone has a polygraph testing condition on their licence and of the outcomes of any tests which take place, including any significant disclosures the person makes. The polygraph policy framework is publicly available here: Polygraph examination policy framework - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Metals: Sales

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions have been bought under section 146 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 in relation to the resale of scrap metal in the last five years.

Edward Argar: Section 146 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 ‘Offence of buying scrap metal for cash etc’ was repealed by the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 under Section 12, with legislation of Section 12 now including the offences applicable to the purchasing of scrap metal.The Ministry of Justice publishes a time series of information on the number of defendants prosecuted for offences under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 (offence code 19534), in the following tool:Outcomes by Offence data toolA breakdown of prosecutions for offences under Section 12 of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013, related to paying cash for scrap metal within the last five years, has been provided in Table 1 on a principal offence basis for all courts in England and Wales.Table 1 (xlsx, 22.6KB)

Prisoners: Wales

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the prison population rate per 100,000 people is in Wales.

Damian Hinds: The prison population per 100,000 people in Wales is 170 based on the population of prisons in Wales as at 31st March 2023, and the population of Wales as at 21st March 2021 from the latest census (noting footnotes 1-5 in attached Table 1).Table 1 (xlsx, 15.4KB)

Courts: Buildings

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the physical condition of court buildings.

Mike Freer: The condition of the HMCTS estate is kept under review to make sure court and tribunal buildings are safe, secure and meet statutory obligations. We have spent over £185 million on court maintenance and repairs in the two years to April 2023, to enhance the resilience of the estate and maintain court capacity. An extra £38m was also spent in 2022/23 on additional minor repairs and replacement items. We have a planned pipeline of future works to improve the resilience and quality of the court estate, and we will continue to work closely with local judiciary and staff to identify and address areas of the highest maintenance priority.

Prisoners: Parents

Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the number of children affected by parental imprisonment.

Damian Hinds: The Ministry of Justice’s most comprehensive prison population data suggests over the course of a year, approximately 200,000 children may be affected by a parent being in or going to prison. The Prisons Strategy White Paper includes a commitment to improve the quality of the data collected on children impacted by parental imprisonment and to improve the support provided.We are delivering on this through our Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) Programme. BOLD is a cross government project which will link data to enable better evidenced and more joined up cross government services. Through BOLD, we will explore data sharing to improve our understanding of the number of children with parents in prison and how parental incarceration impacts children’s outcomes, including education, employment and future offending. Changes have also been made to the Basic Custody Screening Tool to enable us to collect data on entry to prison about how many primary carers are in custody and how many children under the age of 18 are affected by their imprisonment. The learning from the data collected will be incorporated into findings from the BOLD programme, which will be delivered by March 2024.

Women and Equalities

Guide Dogs: Business Premises

Dr Neil Hudson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2023, to Question 187338 on Guide Dogs: Business Premises, whether she plans to provide guidance to businesses on (a) reasonable adjustments and (b) protected characteristics they should consider for customers with assistance dogs.

Stuart Andrew: Clear guidance has already been published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, one of its roles being to ensure that businesses and service providers are aware of their legal responsibilities towards customers with assistance dogs and are equipped with the knowledge to ensure the Equality Act 2010 is complied with. Here is a link to “Assistance Dogs, A guide for all businesses”: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/assistance-dogs-a-guide-for-all-businesses.pdf